


How Chae Hyungwon Stole My Heart

by jongkey_krisho



Series: Life is Not What it Seems [1]
Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: ABO verse, FANTASIA TEASERS ARE COMING OUT SO EXCITED, High School AU, I'll think of more tags, M/M, Romance, Smut, alcohol is involved, and a lot of parties, fights?, friendships, he might also be depressed idk, is kihyun dating bona or not irl???, minhyuk writes in a diary, remember they are teens, starship people are background characters, teens being stupid, they're in highschool come on
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:27:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 39,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23803855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jongkey_krisho/pseuds/jongkey_krisho
Summary: The new transfer student from Busan, an omega called Chae Hyungwon, steals a place in Lee Minhyuk’s heart.
Relationships: Chae Hyungwon/Lee Minhyuk, Im Changkyun | I.M/Yoo Kihyun, Lee Hoseok | Wonho/Son Hyunwoo | Shownu
Series: Life is Not What it Seems [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1896199
Comments: 61
Kudos: 120





	1. Yes, Wonho, that’s an ugly sweater

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Tae_Jongkey_Kai](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tae_Jongkey_Kai/gifts).



_ Date:  _ _ October 5, 2020 _

_ Time:  _ _ 8:20 AM _

_ I came to school early because Wonho came into my room when I was still asleep and screamed for me to get up. Like always. Currently in the homeroom classroom waiting for the clock to hit 8:30. Changkyun isn’t answering my texts. Probably oogling at Kihyun in the hallway, I wouldn’t be surprised.  _

_ Last night mom brought some stir fry and dad spilled all the soy sauce. Pretty funny.  _

_ Nothing really happened.  _

\---

When more students entered the classroom, Minhyuk put his journal away and got out his earbuds. Today felt more like a calm day, he thought, putting on his playlist, the song Hello from Shinee filling his ears. 

Wonho had woken him up this morning and he didn’t get time to grab a granola bar or something, so now his stomach was growling. He rummaged through his bag, desperate to find something, but only came up with an empty bag of gushers. Damn it Changkyun. 

The bell finally rang, so Minhyuk pulled out an earbud, waiting for the teacher to do roll call. There had been far too many instances where the teacher marked him absent even though he was present the entire time. 

The teacher called the names of various students, Minhyuk being near the end of the list. By the time homeroom was over, the teacher reminded them of activities going on for the rest of the week, Minhyuk too busy paying attention to his music, walking out of the classroom as he tried to survive another day of high school. 

***

“So, since the autumn festival is coming up soon,” Changkyun told him after the last period of the day. “Do you want to go? It’s this Friday.” 

Minhyuk shook his head, refusing Changkyun’s offer. “I don’t feel like going.”

Changkyun gave him a look. “Well, Wonho and I are going, so if you change your mind, don’t hesitate to tag along.” 

Minhyuk nodded, closing his locker. He had some homework to do tonight, but he was probably going to spend the rest of the evening playing the Humanoids album over and over again. 

“By the way, you know Jooheon, the alpha in our math class?” Changkyun continued to tell him. “He says there’s a new student, an omega a year younger than us. I think he’s in your chemistry class, did you notice him?” 

Minhyuk shrugged. “I don’t really pay attention to people.”

“Well, he has normal brown hair, nothing too attentive,” Changkyun said. “But you know I have my eyes set on Kihyun.”

Minhyuk nodded, already putting in an earbud. “You’ll always have Kihyun.”

***

_ Date:  _ _ October 9, 2020 _

_ Time:  _ _ 9:13 PM _

_ Week went by quickly, as always. Nothing interesting happen, as always. Wonho did buy me a milkshake, which tasted okay.  _

_ Just came back from the autumn festival. Pretty boring. Changkhyun was trying to hype us up, though. I thought he wanted to come because of Kihyun, but Kihyun apparently had a rehearsal.  _

_ We are about to head over to a party. Wonho and Changkyun are pregaming here at my house, taking vodka shots. I already took 3. I think the party is at Shownu’s, not so sure.  _

_ I don’t feel anything. I’ll take a fourth shot. _

\---

He felt extremely dizzy. 

This wasn’t the type of dizzy that he felt when he got out of bed or when he was zoning himself out, no, this was due to the alcohol. Even though he was an alpha, meaning he was handle alcohol much better than the omegas, he remembers taking at least ten shots before he lost count, meaning he was super wasted by now. 

He tried to remember what happened before he came to the party. They were at the autumn festival, yes, and then they went to Minhyuk’s house, and then Minhyuk took out the alcohol he hid from his parents, and they had some shots, and they came here to Shownu’s house, and they had some more shots, and now he felt extremely dizzy. 

He stumbled his way through the crowd, trying to find Changkyun. Changkyun was with Jooheon, who was the designated driver for them; even though the three walked here, Jooheon offered to drive them back to their place so that they don’t accidently walk through the streets and get hit with a car. One of the students had passed away like that last year. 

Changkyun had his arm thrown around Jooheon, laughing while splashing his red solo cup around, orange liquid spilling everywhere. Jooheon didn’t seem to mind, laughing along to whatever Changkyun was saying. 

Minhyuk stumbled away, not wanting to interrupt the two of them. Maybe he should find Wonho, yeah, he’ll find Wonho, hopefully Wonho wasn’t as trashed as he is. 

He found Wonho near the kitchen, pouring himself some more soju. Wonho looked drunk, yes, but was definitely holding it better than Minhyuk. 

“It’s Minhyuk, yoooooooo!” Wonho yelled, immediately grabbing another cup. “Do you want some?”

“Give me.” Minhyuk took the cup with soju and downed it all in one shot, letting out a sigh when he finished. “I can still think, it’s not working~” he slurred out.

“Oh, I don’t want to think tonight,” Wonho agreed, drinking his own soju. “I need more!”

“What you need is a different sweater,” Minhyuk argued. “That’s ugly.”

“Gotta cover the tiddies, you know,” Wonho said, pouring himself more of the beverage. “Wait, what’s wrong with my sweater? Ugly?”

“Yes, Wonho, that’s an ugly sweater.” Minhyuk took the refilled cup from Wonho and drowned it down himself. “Need more.”

“Well, Changkyun is going to have his sweater off, soon,” Wonho said, pointing to where Changkyun was in the crowd. 

Changkyun was making out with an omega, pinning them against the wall as he struggle to take off the omega’s shirt. 

“Oof, that’s not Kihyun, starting to wonder if his crush was a lie,” Wonho said. 

“Love is an illusion created by the government,” Minhyuk slurred out, swaying his hips to the music. “I need more, Wonho.”

“Coming up,” Wonho said, grabbing another bottle of soju to pour to the both of them. 

By midnight, Minhyuk had drunken three more bottles of soju and wanted to pass out. Wonho was dancing in the crowd with no ugly sweater on, and the last he had seen Changkyun, he had went into one of the bedrooms with the omega he had been making out with. Jooheon was cleaning up messes that people were making, and Shownu was passed out on the counter top. 

The air was getting stuffier, the smell of alcohol and sweaty bodies and everyone’s pheromones becoming too much for Minhyuk to handle. He didn’t think as he opened the front door and walked out of the party, no one paying attention on him at the slightest as he fumbled down the steps and walked away. 

He was swaying a lot on the sidewalk and he couldn’t see well, but he just needed to get away, get away from people. He wanted to be alone, he wanted to get rid of his thoughts, he wanted to go to sleep and forget everyone existed. 

In his drunken faze, he accidently bumped into someday, causing him to crash to the ground, making him let out a groan. 

“Ah!” The person yelled, stepping away from Minhyuk. Minhyuk had no idea who the person was, and his senses weren’t working at this person, so he had no clue.

Minhyuk’s head started to hurt more, only now it wasn’t for alcohol, but for the fall. He didn’t want to think, he wanted to sleep, so sleep was what he did.

*** 

Hyungwon did not expect to take care of a drunk alpha at 12:23 at night. He didn’t even know people stayed out drinking past that hour.

He had just climbed out of his bedroom window, his important belongings in his backpack, and had only been walking for a few minutes before he passed the street with all the rich, big houses. One was being really loud (party music, as usual), and he ignored it, as always, until this drunk party goer bumped into him. 

Hyungwon realized that this was one of the loud kids in his chemistry class, the alpha that most people got along with. He couldn’t remember the alpha’s name and would have asked the latter if he weren’t pass out on the floor. 

It would have been pretty shitty to leave him lying here on the grass in this state, so Hyungwon had no choice but to try to lift him up. Turned out to be a bad decision, because the guy’s weight was too much for him to handle, so Hyungwon fell back onto the grass, the drunken person right on top of him, asleep. 

The only way this intoxicated classmate was going to move was if Hyungwon dragged him on the concrete sidewalk, but it was either that or leave him on the ground where people could come and rob and murder him. 

Now the thing was,  _ where  _ was Hyungwon going to drag him? And was he going to have to stay with this person? If he could recall, it took like two or three hours to sober up, right? By then, it would be around 3 am. 

Hyungwon felt the guy’s pockets, trying to find some form of identification on him. He was relieved to find that the latter had brought his wallet and cellphone. 

That’s it, maybe he could call one of the dude’s friends to pick him up? That way, he could go home safely-

Never mind, the phone was dead. 

He placed the phone carefully back in the other dude’s pocket so that it won’t fall out. If he knew anyone, he would have called someone if they could pick them up, but firstly, it was midnight, and secondly, he hasn’t even been in the city for a week. 

Sighing, he opened up the wallet and checked the ID. Lee Minhyuk. Age 17. Male alpha. 2064 Starship Road. The guy – Minhyuk – lived in the street adjacent to this one. 

Hyungwon put the items back in Minhyuk’s pocket and rummaged through the others, trying to find keys, which were in a lanyard in his jacket. One of these must be his house keys, Hyungwon realized, now if only he could drag him. 

He lifted up Minhyuk from the shoulders and half-carried, half-dragged him across the sidewalk. Every now and then a car would pass by, and Hyungwon could swear he felt the drivers all give him weird looks. They probably thought he was kidnapping him. 

A walk that should have lasted ten minutes ended up being over thirty. Hyungwon lacked muscles everyone and rarely ate, any type of labor physically caused him pain. He was even excused from gym back in his old school, that’s how bad he was. He could feel his joints crack every five minutes. 

At last, they pulled up to the 2064 house. There was no light on inside, so he had to be extra careful not to make a ruckus and wake anyone up, that is, if there  _ was  _ anyone up. 

He opened the door, trying two wrong keys before using the correct one. It was very dark in the living room, but he could see the bookcase and giant TV stands along with probably expensive furniture. The couch was made of white leather and there was a fur rug on the floor along with ridiculous paintings. 

He dragged Minhyuk through the living and up the stairs, almost dropping him twice. After opening most of the bedroom doors, one with his parents asleep and another with what he assumed was Minhyuk’s younger brother, he finally found an empty one and assumed it must be Minhyuck’s. 

Laying Minhyuk on the bed, Hyungwon set all his stuff aside on the nightstand, along with a water bottle that he found on the floor. Minhyuk was going to have a nasty hangover in the morning. 

Hyungwon left the house, continuing on his journey through the night. 

***

_ Date: October 10, 2020  _

_ Time:12:21 PM _

_ My head has been killing me for over an hour. I drank some water which didn’t do shit, and it hurts too much for me to get out of bed.  _

_ I have no idea how I came home last night. Jooheon says he had no collection of dropping me off, and Shownu and Wonho got too wasted to even remember a thing. Changkyun woke up with some omega and doesn’t even remember his nightstand. I certainly don’t have any memories either.  _

_ There were some grass stains on my jeans, so maybe I walked? I don’t know, but mom says the door was left unlocked. No idea on what happened _


	2. He's Obsessed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this FF is dedicated to Tae_Jongkey_Kai who wouldnt stop bitching about the All In mv, now everytime i watch it, i cry every time hyungwon appears. good times.

_ Date: October 20, 2020 _

_ Time: 4:19 PM _ _   
_ _   
_ _ Currently writing this in detention all thanks to Shownu and Wonho.  _

_ Apparently, Wonho didn’t approve Shownu’s new omega girlfriend or something, I don’t know, I didn’t get the full story from Changkyun. I was hearing music during lunch, and when I looked up the two were brawling on the ground, I don’t have any context behind it.  _

_ I can’t hear music in detention, only homework. Jokes on them. This isn’t homework, this is me vocalizing all the shit that goes on in my life, per request of all those websites that are supposedly ‘self help’ but also don’t do shit either.  _

_ Things have gotten tense when between those two ever since the girlfriend, not that I know who it is. I don’t really pay attention. What I’m more worried about is how I’ve been going home drunk by myself and not get robbed or killed. Alpha’s luck, I guess? It’s more of the omegas who get caught in that situation. I’ve been to three more parties since then and I always wake up in my bed. Has my mom found out? I hate waiting for the next scolding.  _

_ It’s really boring here in detention. We’re supposed to get out at five. I’m only here because I tried to pull off Shownu from Wonho, he repeatedly kept slamming his fist onto Wonho’s jaw, speaking of which, Wonho isn’t even here. Shownu did some serious injuries on him. I heard he even broke his sternum. Not that I would know because I’m in FUCKING DETENTION!!!!! _

_ I have an idea on how to figure out how I’ve been getting home. It’s going to take some money and some drinks.  _

\---  
  


Jooheon and Changkyun didn’t know the full story either. 

From what Minhyuk remembers, Wonho had said something about Shownu’s girlfriend and Shownu had gotten defensive. They had not spoken a word to each other about the incident, although to be fair, Wonho didn’t go to school for a few days thanks to the injuries. 

It sort of became big talk of the school but quickly shut itself down; it was just two alphas fighting, over all. Omegas usually only do hair pulling so it wasn’t really interesting. What  _ would  _ have been a good fight would be an alpha and an omega, but of course you never see those. 

Shownu was not throwing a party that Friday, so Jooheon threw it at his house instead. He was the designated driver this time, so he couldn’t drink, which made it really boring. 

He wished he would have brought his journal to write in, but the last thing he needed was to look like a nerd writing in a book while everyone got drunk around him, so he decided to just play games on his phone again to kill time. The music in the room was too fucking loud for him to play his own, so he quickly got into a bad mood. 

The good thing was that since everyone was mad drunk and probably high was that he could be in charge of the music. Jooheon was dancing with some of their classmates, Changkyun was sucking face  _ again _ , and obviously Wonho and Shownu weren’t present, so that was about it. 

By midnight, Jooheon and Changkyun had passed out, so Minhyuk kicked everyone out. People didn’t complain, though, since there were cops at another house on the street as they heard gunshots earlier, so people left in a hurry, albeit a bit terrified. Thankfully, either the cops didn’t notice or they didn’t care. 

Changkyun had fallen asleep at the corner of the kitchen, so Minhyuk dragged his to the couch and through his jacket on him. Jooheon had already fallen asleep on the couch, so Minhyuk locked the door and went out into the night, heading out. 

He would have stayed in at Jooheon’s, but Minhyuk did not like staying over people’s houses, so walking back home was what he would have preferred. He wasn’t feeling sleepy, though he was use to sleeping long hours and having naps, so he was just going to hear music when he went home. 

On his walk, he found someone walking alone coming from the opposite direction, an omega he figured. The omega was dressed in all black, a hoodie covering half of his face and he had on a backpack. 

Minhyuk didn’t look where he was going and tripped, landing on the grass. He cried out in pain, clutching his ankle hoping it wasn’t injured. 

He didn’t hear the stranger walk closer to him until the guy pulled him up. “You need to stop getting so drunk,” he muttered, help Minhyuk sit up. 

Minhyuk turned to look at him. “I’m not drunk! Who told you that?!”

He guy immediately took his hands off Minhyuk and stepped back. “You’re sober? What?”

Minhyuk moved his ankle, making sure it wasn’t sprained, and got up. “I only tripped, that was it. Why would I be drunk?”

The guy didn’t say a word. “I should get going,” he said, turning around to walk away, only for Minhyuk to pull him backwards.

“You’ve been taking me home all those nights, haven’t you?” he asked the stranger. 

Minhyuk could hear him gulp. “You were always intoxicated.”

“I don’t even know your name,” Minhyuk said. “How do you know mine?”

“People talk to you a lot,” the guy explained. “I’m in some of your classes, so…”

“Name?” he turned the stranger around to face him. Now that he was closer, he could see the omega’s face. 

“Hyungwon,” the latter said. “I really should be going-“

Minhyuk didn’t let him finish, instead, pushing him away. “Don’t fucking talk to me again, weirdo. If you’re that desperate for sex just go to a fucking party and get wasted, dammit.” 

And with that, Minhyuk walked away, limping his entire walk home. 

***

_ Date:  _ _ October 24, 2020 _

_ Time:  _ _ 1:09 AM _

_ Turned out some weird ass omega had been following home. Now he knows my name, my address, jesus, what else could he possible know? Should I report the police? The school? Is he actually a student? Did he use me for sex and I didn’t know? What if he’s hiding drugs in my house? Wh _

\---  
  


Minhyuk woke up with a start when he heard a pounding on the door, lifting his head up from the desk. 

“Minhyuk, are you still awake?” he heard his mother yell outside his room. “It’s noon already!”

“I’m up!” Minhyuk said, his eyes half closed. He rubbed them a few times before closing his journal and stuffing it in the study’s drawer. “I was just writing, you can come in.”

His mother opened the door, popping in. She was carrying a tiny box in her hand. “Someone left this on the doorstep for you,” she said, setting it on his bed. “Why are your eyes read?”

“Uh, I watched Clannad again,” Minhyuk lied, standing up. “Does the box have a name? It’s probably of Jooheon again.”

“I don’t know, but remember we’re going to your aunt Hyolyn’s house” she reminded him, walking out the room. “Make sure you're ready by then.”   
  


  
***   
  


On Monday, Minhyuk woke up late for school, so he forgot to grab his journal on his way out, so he was left playing Replay on replay during homeroom, sleeping on his desk, missing roll call and announcements. 

Thankfully, Changkyun being a  _ good friend  _ (Minhyuk couldn’t help but snort at that) kept him updated during lunch, Minhyuk just stuffing his face with rice while Changkyun kept babbling. 

"So I went to Wonho's house Sunday," Changkyun said, munching on some fries before continuing. "He looked pretty. I think he's been crying a lot."

Minhyuk shrugged, getting another spoonful of rice. "I mean, him and Shownu are the closest to each other."

"Pfft, who knows at this point." Changkyun took off the lid of his water bottle container, taking a sip. "Although it looked like Wonho had been crying a lot."

"He's going to make up with Shownu sooner or later." Minhyuk stuffed another spoonful of rice in his mouth. "They always do."

"Course they will. Shownu broke up with his girlfriend."

"What, really?!" Minhyuk asked. The two were fighting because of Shownu's girlfriend, only for them to break up? "What was the point?"

"Turns out Wonho was right, Shownu's girl was cheating. Did you go to Jooheon's party during the weekend?"

"Yeah, that's when I found out I had a stalker. Some omega weirdo. Never seen him before.

  
  


***

Like Changkyun and Minhyuk predicted, Wonho and Shownu were back to good terms on Wednesday.

Shownu apologized profusely to his best friend, admitting that he got out of control and should have paid attention to him. Wonho admitted that he could have handled the situation and differently, and although Wonho still had his injuries, almost everything was back to normal.

Yep, Wonho and Shownu were  _ obsessed  _ with each. They were even the only ones who could call each other by their real name; only Wonho can call Shownu Hyunwoo, and only Shownu can call Wonho Hoseok. One time Changkyun said Hyunwoo, and Shownu gave him the silent treatment all day. Dramatic, yes, but proved a point. 

So, yes. The two were now back to speaking terms, which meant one thing: they had to throw  _ another  _ party on Friday again.

Minhyuk wasn't the designated sober one, no, that was Changkyun. However, he wasn't really feeling like it; he wanted to go home and hear his own music in the dark. 

He tried to look for Changkyun, but the latter was deeply engrossed in a conversation with Jooheon, so Minhyuk decided to leave without saying goodbye. 

The living room was packed, but somehow Minhyuk was able to push pass all the people and leave through the front door, immediately relaxing when he felt the cool air. 

There were some drunk people hanging around, some smoking, one person throwing up on a bush, but Minhyuk felt completely relaxed, so he dug out his earbuds, playing the Resurrection album by H.O.T, and walked away from the house, heading home.

He stayed on the sidewalk, taking his time. He didn't want to go home quite  _ yet.  _ He wasn't exactly sleepy, so it didn't matter to him what time he got home.

When he turned at the intersection, he noticed another figure coming towards him, their head hung low. They had a hoodie covering their eyes, their hands stuffed into the pockets. The hoodie must have been like two sizes bigger than him. 

It was really windy outside tonight, though, so their hoodie did eventually fall off, revealing it to be-

"YOU!" Minhyuk shouted, pointing at the male omega. "I told you to stop harassing me!"

The omega - what was his name again? - widened his eyes when he saw Minhyuk. "I- what? Why would I be following you?"

"You must have some perverted thoughts," Minhyuk defended himself. "I won't let you do anything to me."

"I don't know how many times to explain to you that I took you home when you were drunk, but whatever, now I have to go-"

Minhyuk pulled the omega's arm. "Now where are you going?"

The omega tried to pull away. "Please leave me alone," the omega whispered. 

"Not until you tell me why you've been stalking me-"

"Look." The omega clutched Minhyuk's arm and yanked it off him. "Don't touch me, just because you're an alpha doesn't mean you can touch me. I don't stalk you, I am free to roam the streets, and I'll remember not to help you when you're drunk next time, now if you excuse me, I have to go somewhere."

He turned to walk away, but Minhyuk blocked his path. "Wait, where are you going?"

"Do you even know my name?!" the omega yelled at him. 

Minhyuk scratched his head. "Did you even tell me it?"

"It's Hyungwon and I'm heading to work-"

"At this hour?"

Hyungwon rolled his eyes. "Excuse me for not having a cash register job."

"Why do I get the feeling that you're a stripper?" Minhyuk questioned him. 

Hyungwon lifted up his hoodie to reveal a plain white T-shirt. "You expect me to pole dance it T-shirts and jeans?"

"Kinks come in all forms and sizes."

Hyungwon frowned. "I really have to go to work now."

"Let me go with you," Minhyuk asked. He had nothing better to do for the night. 

"Fine, but if they kick you out, it's not my fault."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope the story is getting to a good start. sorry if you think minhyuk is a bitch, he'll get character development. i dont tolerate assholes *cough cough fuck u starship*


	3. The Water Girl (or, Boy)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yall, this fanfic is VERY angsty, i might update the tags, idk. i like to think of this as a.. idk what to consider it, they're in high school and they're stupid i guess

Minhyuk followed Hyungwon downtown in the city, the night stars barely visible as they weaved their way through the streets, the nightlight bustling despite the hour. 

They didn’t speak a word to each, until Hyungwon went into a deep, hidden alley, Minhyuk stopping at the entrance. 

“Woah, woah, is this your plan on murdering me?” Minhyuk said, refusing to enter. “Can’t you kill me some other way?”

Hyungwon rolled his eyes at him. “Yes, I saved you off the streets just to bring you here and steal your kidneys.”

Minhyuk started thinking about all the alcohol he drinks. “Uh, they’re probably damaged from too much vodka.”

“That would be your  _ liver _ .” Hyungwon knocked on a door. “Liver does detoxifying, and yes, I’m going to steal it too.”

Minhyuk walked up to where the omega was. “I could honestly care less by now.”

The door was opened from inside by a large, buff man. “Water girl, you’re here.”

“Stop being so fucking sexist,” Hyungwon muttered, pushing past the man to get inside. “And the alpha’s with me.”

The buff man gave Minhyuk a hard glare. “Don’t do anything stupid if you want to live."

Minhyuk wanted to joke about not wanting to live but held his tongue, being curious to whatever it was that Hyungwon did. So, he bowed down slightly, mentioned an excuse me, and followed Hyungwon inside.

To say that he expected an underground fighting ring was  _ quite  _ the understatement.

There was a huge crowd of people circling the center, chanting someone's name. If Minhyuk stood on his tiptoes, he could see two people in the center getting ready to fight, drinking water, flexing, and looking like they could kill somebody. 

He followed Hyungwon near the bar, where he went behind the counter and grabbed a box with rags and water bottles. 

"What do you even  _ do _ here?" Minhyuk yelled at him; he could barely hear anything over the noise and screaming. 

Hyungwon handed him the box. “Clean the ring between rounds and hand them water. It’s really it.”

“Bu-but how did you even  _ find  _ this job??” Minhyuk peered inside the box, where he noticed there were also bandages in the bottom. “Weren’t you just unemployed some days ago?? And the new student like two, three weeks ago?”

“You find a lot of stuff when you walk around the city in the night,” Hyungwon explained. “Like intoxicated alphas who faint on the sidewalk.”

Minhyuk frowned. “I’m not  _ always  _ drunk.”

“You’re like an alcoholic.” Hyungwon led him towards the center of the ring, where the two alphas were about to fight. 

“I am  _ not  _ an alcoholic.”   
  


  
***

  
  


Minhyuk was drunk by the end of the night. 

Since he couldn’t talk to Hyungwon during the fights, the omega always having to pay attention, and since he didn’t know anyone here, the only thing he could really do was have a drink or two. One shot turned into two which turned into ten.

And now he was passed out.

Hyungwon really didn’t get this man. When he bumped into Minhyuk that one night where Minhyuk thought he stalked him, Minhyuk had gone all off on him and Hyungwon felt scared and intimidated. However, it wasn’t hard to realize that Minhyuk wasn’t that tough at all. 

The only “tough” friend that Minhyuk had in Hyungwon’s opinion was Jooheon, but it wasn’t even  _ that  _ much. They were just your usual popular high school boys who slept around, got drunk and partied together.

Hyungwon shook Minhyuk’s body, trying to wake him up. He had to leave soon, and he already got his $30 bucks.

“Minhyuk.” He shook the latter’s arm more aggressively. Minhyuk was asleep on the counter, many glasses and bottles around him. “Minhyuk. Wake up.”

A phone started ringing, and it was definitely not Hyungwon’s. It was some TVXQ song playing from the Humanoids album.

He searched in Minhyuk’s and pulled out the expensive phone, the name Changkyun displayed on the screen. Sliding the accepting call button, he put the phone to his ear. “Hello?”

“Uh, this is  _ not  _ Minhyuk, who’s this?”

“Hyungwon. Your friend is drunk.”

He heard some noises in the background, some shouting. “Is he here at the party? I couldn’t find him, although he says some creep had been taking him home-”

Of course Minhyuk would talk shit about him. 

“Look, can you just go to Chuseok street here in the city? I’ll have him in front of the pasta diner, he’s passed out and I don’t have a car.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be there, I’m sober, don’t worry.”   
  


  
***

_ Date: October 31, 2020 _

_ Time: 2:45 PM _

_ SO! I woke up in my room again with the worst hangover. Don’t really recall much that happened last night, except I saw some people fighting in a ring?? No idea how I went to a place like that after the party, someone must have taken me. _

_ \--- _

_ Date: October 31, 2020 _

_ Time: 5:03 PM _

_ Jooheon called and we played video games over the mic for a bit, when I remembered something. The creep was there! The omega that had been stalking me. I remember his name, Hyungwon. He was there at the side, with the referee-person, whatever it’s called.  _

_ Still doesn’t explain how I went home. He was always dragging me outside, so I’m assuming he doesn’t have a car. Unless he  _ did  _ drag me all the way home?? It must have been a long walk for a drunk person. Kinda feel bad for him now.  _

_ Actually, I’m starting to think he wasn’t a creep. Jooheon has told me that I can’t do anything when I’m close to passing out, sooooooo _

_ Shit, should i say sorry to the guy? He’s in one of my classes, chemistry, but I never talk to him, he’s always at the back with his hoodie on, always writing in a notebook. No idea what he does.  _

_ Mom’s calling. Aunt Hyolyn is here again. Knowing mother, she made the cookies I like, but I don’t really feel like eating them. Not really hungry today. _

_ It is Halloween today, though, so Jooheon is throwing something. Might go, but don’t feel like it. Free booze, though. Really tempting. _

\---

Minhyuk  _ did  _ end up going to the party. 

Since it  _ was  _ Halloween, a lot of people were dressing up in costumes. Minhyuk went there for the alcohol, though, so he wrote  _ background character  _ on a piece of paper and taped it to the front of his shirt before heading out. 

There was the usual outfits; girls wearing slutty outfits, guys practically naked, those who actually put effort in their costumes, those who didn’t, those who were something cool, those who were something stupid. 

Surprisingly, when he arrived, Changkyun, dressed up as a wolf,  _ wasn’t  _ sucking face with an omega. Kihyun actually showed up to one of these parties for once, who had dressed up in a peach-colored outfit. The two were talking, Kihyun laughing at something Changkyun said. 

He couldn’t find Jooheon, Wonho or Shownu anywhere, so he headed towards the kitchen and grabbed a red plastic cup and filled it halfway with vodka, the other half with orange juice before drowning it all in one gulp. 

Two hours later, he’s really tipsy, almost drunk. He gets tired of hearing all the voices in the room, all the noise, so he decides to take a break and goes outside, pushy past all the sweaty bodies. 

When he reaches the porch, he sits on one of the free chairs, ignoring the voices of those people lingering outside, closing his eyes to catch his breath. 

“So  _ this  _ is what you look like when you’re not unconscious,” he heard someone say. 

He opened his eyes and saw Hyungwon, who was sitting on top of the concrete counter of the porch, swinging his legs around, phone in his hand.

“What are  _ you  _ doing here?” Minhyuk muttered under his breath. Hyungwon was looking kind of fuzzy. 

“Work doesn’t start yet, so I’m here waiting to see how long till you get drunk and try to go home,” Hyungwon said, going back to scrolling through his phone. 

“I don’t  _ always  _ get drunk,” Minhyuk said, his words starting to slur.

“Mhm. Sure, buddy.”

“I’m serious!” Minhyuk yelled, not caring about the other people hearing them. No one paid attention, though; everyone was used to drunk people talking. “I don’t always get drunk.”

“Fine. Then don’t get drunk today,” Hyungwon stated, glaring at Minhyuk. “You act so high and mighty at me when you're sober but now you’re acting like a big baby."

“I’m  _ not  _ a baby-” Minhyuk gagged, running towards the edge of the porch to throw up. 

“Aaaand he’s drunk,” Hyungwon muttered, stuffing his phone back in his pocket before standing next to a puking Minhyuk. “I don’t think I want to steal your liver anymore.”

When Minhyuk finished, he started spitting, trying to get rid of the taste in his mouth. “I feel sick.”

“You’re drunk.” Hyungwon grabbed his hand and dragged him back into the house, pushing past the crowds of people dancing. “Let’s get you some water before we take you home and try to make sure you’re unconscious, I don’t like dragging drunk people.”

“I’m… not…  _ drunk _ -” Minhyuk slurred, his body swaying a bit, bumping into some people. “I don’t want water~”

Hyungwon grabbed onto Minhyuk’s arms and pushed him forward, making sure Minhyuk doesn’t fall. “You better not fall asleep, do you even know whose house are you in?"

“Wonho’s?” Minhyuk asked, squirming under Hyungwon’s grip. “No, Shownu? No, it’s  _ your  _ party, right-”

“I shouldn’t have asked.” 

Minhyuk sat him on one of the bar stools next to the kitchen island, Minhyuk’s head falling down and slamming on the counter. 

“No, wake up,  _ please  _ wake up, no.” Hyungwon grabbed Minhyuk’s head and pulled it up, the latter’s eyes half-closed. “Minhyuk, don’t do this now.”

“I’m…  _ not  _ drunk, Changkyun,” Minhyuk muttered, head falling forward.

Hyungwon grabbed one of the plastic cups on the counter and filled it with tap water, putting it next to Minhyuk’s lips. “Drink this.”

“Is it more  _ vodka _ ?” Minhyuk asked, eyes closed. “Straight vodka? I could use some of that.”

“Yes, it’s vodka, now drink it.” Hyungwon forced Minhyuk to drink the liquid. 

Minhyuk spit it out. “It’s not burning my throat, it  _ has  _ to burn my throat-”

“Drink the goddamn water,” Hyungwon said, forcing Minhyuk to drink some more. Minhyuk was reminding him of his father. “I’m seriously losing respect for you.”

“Respect?” Minhyuk eyes started fluttering; they were really red. “No, please respect me, no one ever respects me-”

“Should have thought of that before yelling at me.” Hyungwon set the cup down on the counter and helped Minhyuk get off of the chair. “Now let’s get you home, I have to go to work soon.”

“You know-” Minhyuk hiccuped and started to giggle. “I kind of want to see you fight, you know, an omega and an alpha fighting-”

“Do you even know what the fuck you’re saying?” Hyungwon yelled at him. He held onto Minhyuk’s arms and led him out to the door again, ignoring someone shouting after him.

“No, serious, I want to see~” Minhyuk shook Hyungwon off him and pushed him. “Come on, fight me, I won’t touch you, promise.”

Hyungwon’s eyes went wide. “Minhyuk, please stop, I need to go to work-”

“YOU!” Hyungwon turned around and fell straight to the ground after someone socked his jaw. 

Minhyuk turned to look at the person. “Shownu! I told him I wouldn’t touch him!” he slurred, swaying back and forth again. 

“You’re the creep that’s been following him, weren’t you?!” Shownu yelled, fists balling in anger. “Why don’t you be a whore somewhere else??” 

Hyungwon touched his face, wincing in pain. He struggled to get up from the floor. “Listen, I don’t know what Minhyuk here told you but-”

Shownu punched him in the jaw again, Hyungwon falling back, hands catching his fall. 

“Shownu-” Minhyuk closed his eyes and fell on the floor, passing out. He started to snore.

Shownu got on top of Hyungwon and held him in a choke hold position. “Get the  _ fuck  _ away from Minhyuk, you hear me, omega??”

Hyungwon was gasping for air, tears on his face and he tried to pry Shownu’s hands off him. 

Everyone was watching the commotion going on, some chanting fight, others recording, and no one dared to get in. It was rare, seeing an omega and an alpha fight. 

That is, until Changkyun came and pulled Shownu off Hyungwon. “Bitch, are you  _ insane??  _ He’s not a stalker, he just takes Minhyuk home when he’s drunk, he’s the one who told me to pick him up yesterday, remember?! The waterboy?”

Shownu’s eyes went wide with realization. “Then why does Minhyuk say he’s a piece of shit?”

Hyungwon crawled away from them, arm touching the angry red marks around his neck as he ignored the shouts after him, running towards the door and didn’t come back for the rest of the night.   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SORRY FOR THE CLIFFHANGERS  
> anyways i promise to show more of the other ships too


	4. You’re Stupid

_ Date: November 1, 2020 _

_ Time: 12:59 PM _

_ Currently I am not on speaking terms with Shownu.  _

_ \--- _

_ Date: November 1, 2020 _

_ Time: 3:20 PM  _

_ I am now back to speaking terms on Shownu. Still mad, but on speaking terms.  _

_ To be fair, all Changkyun told him was that Hyungwon told him to pick me up, and nothing else. When I told Shownu that I went to Hyungwon’s workplace, he told me “so you complain about him stalking you but you went to stalk him at his place???” _

_ Now that I think about it, yeah.  _

_ I don’t have Hyungwon’s phone number so I can’t text him I’m sorry. I don’t know what other stupid shit I said that night, I must have said  _ something. 

_ Jooheon got a video recording from someone, and yeah, Shownu is really aggressive when it comes to fighting. Wonho still looks like a mess from that one fight they had.  _

_ Mom is telling me that Aunt Hyolyn is coming over so I have to go help her make lunch now.  _

_ \--- _

_ Date: November 1, 2020 _

_ Time: 10:23 PM _

_ I have an idea.  _

  
  


***

It was past midnight when Minhyuk snuck out of his house through the bedroom window, making the walk to the center of the city. 

It took a while to get there, around the same as last time, and thankfully he wasn’t drunk tonight. He promised to himself he wouldn’t drink tonight. 

When he reached the alley to where the place was located, he knocked on the same door, same creepy alpha coming out. “Who are you?”

“I’m with Hyun- I mean the waterboy,” Minhyuk explained. “Or water girl, whatever you guys call him. I came here with him once.”

The bouncer nodded, stepping to the side. “Get in.”

“Yes, thank you, thank you.” He stepped in the place, immediately trying to block out the noise and the sweaty bodies pressed next to him as he struggled to make his way towards the center. 

He could very easily recognize Hyungwon, who was sitting nearby, the big box aside. Some fighter asked for a water bottle and he picked one up and tossed it, a bored expression on his face. 

Minhyuk felt slightly guilty when he saw a string of bruises around Hyungwon’s face and jaw. 

He pushed his way through the crowd, but it wasn’t until he loudly shouted Hyungwon’s name that the omega saw him, eyes going wide. 

Minhyuk sat down next to Hyungwon, who was still baffled. “What are you doing here?” he said, shouting over the music in the place. 

“To say sorry,” Minhyuk shouted back. He stared at the center of the ring, where the two alphas were getting ready to fight. “For everything.”

Hyungwon shrugged. “It’s whatever.”

The two sat in silence, watching the now-commenced fight between the two alphas. Some guy came and asked Hyungwon to hand him a water bottle, so Hyungwon tossed him one without a second thought. 

“Shownu is also sorry,” Minhyuk continued. “For hurting you. I had told them you were a stalker-”

“Which I already emphasized that I  _ wasn’t  _ multiple times,” Hyungwon argued. “I can’t even help some drunk person without him talking shit about me to his friends-”

“And I’m sorry about that too,” Minhyuk added. “Really.”

Hyungwon squinted his eyes, glaring at Minhyuk. “That’s random coming from you.”

“You don’t know me,” Minhyuk complained. 

Hyungwon laughed. “Do we  _ really  _ know anyone?”

  
  


***

The following Monday, Minhyuk ate lunch with Changkyun alone. Wonho and Shownu were skipping school to do something together and Jooheon ate with other people. 

“How did Friday go for you?” Minhyuk asked, taking a bite of his burger. 

“Oh, it was great, I got to talk to Kihyun,” Changkyun gushed. “But he left pretty early. All I remember is that and watching Shownu punch Hyungwon-”

“You said we would get past that.”

“Oops, my bad.” Changkyun stole a handful of fries from Minhyuk’s tray. “Don’t remember anything else, woke up naked on a bed, so I got dressed and went home, nothing else.”

Minhyuk set his sandwich down, glaring at Changkyun. “Aren’t you leading Kihyun on?”

“Pfft, no, what gave you that idea?” Changkyun turned around to see Kihyun a few tables away, eating food with his friends. “We’re not dating, it’s not cheating.”

“But you want to date him,” Minhyuk pointed out. “What if he feels like you're leading him on?”

“I’m not leading him on, he doesn’t even flirt with me I think.” Changkyun pointed to where Kihyun was. “Look, he hangs out with alphas, too.”

Minhyuk rolled his eyes. “Alphas and omegas can be friends.”

“Like you and Hyungwon?” Changkyun asked, reaching over to take Minhyuk’s burger. Once Minhyuk stopped touching his food, he wouldn’t finish it at all. “Are you guys friends?”

Minhyuk shrugged. “I don’t  _ think  _ so, after Saturday, we went our separate ways.”

“So no.”

“I guess.”   
  


***

_ Date: November 2, 2020 _

_ Time: 5:36 PM _

_ Reasons why Hyungwon and I could be considered friends: _

_ 1\. We have talked on some occasions _

_2._

  
  


_ Reasons why Hyungwon and I can NOT be considered friends _

_ 1\. I don’t even have his phone number _

_ 2\. What’s his family name anyways _

_ 3\. According to Changkyun, alphas and omegas can’t be just friends _

_ 4\. My actual friends beat him up (on accident) _

_ 5\. We don’t actually hang out  _

_ 6\. Or look for each other _

_ 7\. Why are there so many occasions where we have talked _

_ \--- _

_ Date: November 2, 2020 _

_ Time: 7:24 PM _

_ Mom called me for dinner. Some pork belly or something, I don’t remember, I only ate the rice. Thankfully I have some pretzels in my room.  _

_ I’m starting to suspect Changkyun is a playboy.  _

  
  


***

The next day at school, Minhyuk realized that Hyungwon was in his chemistry class. 

It was really odd to see him there. Hyungwon had his hoodie up, alternating between writing something in a notebook or typing on his phone. Minhyuk would have thought he was doing homework, since they were given time during class to work on something with acids, Minhyuk wasn’t paying attention, but Minhyuk had a feeling Hyungwon wasn’t paying attention. 

Ignoring Seongwoo’s and Minhee’s discussions about eggs (they haven’t been paying attention in class, either), he got out of his seat and went to kneel on the floor next to Hyungwon, surprising the latter. 

“I didn’t know you were in my class,” Minhyuk said. 

Hyungwon took out an earbud, setting his phone down. “What are you doing here?"

“Just pointing out something.” Minhyuk looked over the notebook where Hyungwon had been writing, noticing charts and bullet point lists. “What is that-”

Hyungwon slammed his notebook shut. “That’s personal.”

Oof, Minhyuk understood that feeling. One time Minhyuk’s mother cleaned his room and started reading his diary, which resulted in a screaming match between the two and the silent treatment. Her excuse? He seemed a bit ‘off’.

Minhyuk lifted his hands up. “Sorry, sorry, I get it.”

Hyungwon rolled his eyes, turning his attention back on his phone. “Nice to know."

Minhyuk got up from his knees, shifting his weight nervously. “Well, I’ll just go back to my seat, then.”

Hyungwon shrugged, sparing Minhyuk a look. “I’m getting concerned, are you-”

“I am  _ not  _ drunk,” Minhyuk argued. “I am a perfectly normal human being.”

“Can you just tell me what you want?” Hyungwon asked impatiently. “You creep me out.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Minhyuk said, heading back to his seat. 

He turned around to see Hyungwon, still staring at him for a good minute before opening his notebook again, ignoring Minhyuk. 

“Minhyuk, we were asking if hard boiled is better than soft boiled,” Seongwoo said. 

Minhee rolled his eyes. “You are a  _ fucking  _ psychopath, Seongwoo, it’s hard boiled all the way-”

“But I don’t like hard boiled, soft boiled is better!”

Minhyuk ignored the two guys, eyes still focused on the omega doing his own thing. 

  
  


\---   
  


After school, Minhyuk made his way out of the double doors, walking on the sidewalk to head to the buses, when he heard Changkyun call his name. 

Startled, he turned around and saw Changkyun running towards him, hand covering his face. “Minhyuk, can I go to your house today?” Changkyun whispered, his voice quivering. 

Minhyuk raised an eye. “Uh… okay, I guess? Why?”

Changkyun laughed. “Can’t we just hang out?”

“That’s not really what I’m saying,” Minhyuk said. “Look, when have you ever wanted to hang out after school literally ten seconds before I get on the bus?”

“Please? I have my car, I’ll take you home,” Changkyun pleaded. “Please, I don’t want to drink alone."

Minhyuk’s eyes widened. “You just want to hang out so that we can drink??”

“Minhyuk, I am  _ begging  _ you.” Changkyun grabbed onto Minhyuk’s arm. “Please, you have to trust me.”

“ _ Fine. _ ” Minhyuk shook Changkyun off him. “Lead the way.”   
  


\---

“Dude, I know  _ I  _ drink a lot, but that’s ridiculous,” Minhyuk said, downing his second shot of vodka. “What made you want to get drunk on a Tuesday?”

Pouring his fifth shot of vodka, Changkyun stared at Minhyuk. “It doesn’t matter anyways.”

“Of course it does matter, you're wasting my alcohol stash.” Taking the bottle from Changkyun, Minhyuk put the cap back on. “I am  _ so  _ glad that no one can  _ ever  _ find my Patron stash.” 

“Man, that’s some expensive ass alcohol.” Changkyun downed his fifth shot and reached for the bottle from Minhyuk, who struggled to resist Changkyun’s hands. 

“I only drink to forget, Changkyun,” Minhyuk reminded him. “So you better tell me what it is right now that you want to forget.”

Changkyun yanked the bottle from Minhyuk’s hand and opened it, pouring himself a sixth shot. The bottle was almost empty, Minhyuk noticed. 

He raised his sixth shot in the air. “A toast, for being fuck ups."

“Oh, Jesus Christ.” Minhyuk took the bottle back from Changkyun and got up, stomping his way to the closet before shoving it in his hiding spot. “I thought you wanted to hang out.”

“Some alpha wants to ask out Kihyun!” Changkyun yelled, dropping the shot glass as he leaned onto the side of the bed. “So now I have to quickly do it!”

“Which I’ve been telling you for months now. Do you listen to us?  _ Nooo.”  _ Ignoring his tipsy friend, Minhyuk grabbed his backpack and sat down on his bed, opening it and pulling out some books. “I don’t care if you get drunk in my room, just bring your own alcohol next time.” 

“But you got to help me date Kihyun!” Changkyun yelled. “I can’t lose him-”

“Then stop sleeping with omegas and actually think of how to date him, jeesh.” Minhyuk opened his chemistry textbook to start his assigned reading. 

“Minhyuk you got to help me-”

“I  _ literally  _ have never been with someone in my  _ entire  _ life, I can’t-”

“AHHHHHH!”   
  
***

_ Date: November 3, 2020 _

_ Time: 11:49 PM _

_ Writing this at night because Changkyun took HOURS _

_ To be honest, i am really, but  _ really  _ conflicted right now. Apparently, I am now Changkyun’s wing man on how to help him get Kihyun as a boyfriend when there are like a million reasons why I shouldn’t be the wingman. For one, I have never, and I mean NEVER, been in a relationship. Fucking I don’t know what a kiss is like, goddammit. _

_ Now that I think about it, me and Wonho are the ones who don’t have experience. Changkyun sleeps around but has had the longest crush on Kihyun that I can remember. Shownu has had some girlfriends and boyfriends but isn’t seeing anyone after that one incident, and Jooheon dated that one bitch for like a year before she cheated on him I think.  _

_ Does Wonho even like anyone? All he does is hang out with Shownu. Those two are such a package deal. I should probably ask him tomorrow after school.  _

_ I’ve had a few crushes here and there, but they never last long. Don’t know why. I’m perfectly fine going to the parties for beer and that’s it.  _

_ Does Hyungwon like anyone? I don’t see him much at school, but he hasn’t interacted with anyone as far as I’m sure. Has he ever dated an alpha? Is he dating one right now? Would he date one?  _

_ I guess I don’t know him as much as I thought. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guess what peeps! i just created a twitter (@jongkey_krisho) where i will tweet when i update a fanfic. I'll also retweet fanart and any dumb shit i see lol 
> 
> i am SO excited for the monsta x comeback


	5. Can Shownu, Like, Shut Up?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi

“Listen up boys!” Shownu slammed his tray down on the table during lunch, Wonho right beside him. “We’re having a sleepover Friday.”

Jooheon shook his head. “No can do, there’s this party I wanted to crash-”

“ _ Sleepover _ .” Shownu sat down, the same time as Wonho, and the two immediately started unwrapping their food. “Alphas only.”

“It’s not like any of us have any omegas,” Changkyun whispered to Minhyuk. 

Shownu frowned. “I heard that!”

“Yeah, yeah, just give me your chicken wrap and be done with it.” Jooheon reached over to try to swipe Shownu’s sandwich, only to be slapped on the wrist. “Hey!”

“You have a cheeseburger  _ right there _ . Now, who wants to do a sleepover?”

“What are we, twelve?” Minhyuk muttered. “Shownu, shut up.”

“We can order pizza and watch horror movies,” Wonho suggested, smiling. “It’ll be great!!”

Changkyun rolled his eyes, grabbing a fistful of fries. “Okay, now, question is, where are we going to hold it?”

“Jooheon’s house,” Shownu stated. 

Jooheon’s eyes went wide. “Why my house???”

“Because you have the coolest basement,” Shownu explained. 

Jooheon frowned. “Give me your wrap.”

“No! Never-”

“Here, you can have mine.” Wonho tossed his wrap to Jooheon. “I’m not really hungry.”

“Don’t you, like,  _ always  _ eat though?” Changkyun asked, startled. “Wonder how you got those pecs, though.”

“He’s gonna be able to woo any omega boy or girl he wants,” Shownu said, laughing. “I’m the best man, though, y’all can be the flower boys."

“Man, I wish I can bench press like you.” Jooheon took off the wrappers of the food and took a big bite, munching on it while continuing to speak. “You’re building up all this great stamina for sex and you won’t even use it.”

“Wonho, you can tell us if you're using steroids,” Changkyun added. 

Wonho frowned. “I don’t care about body image.”

“Nonsense, all alphas want to look tough.” Shownu playfully punched Wonho’s arm. “See that? That’s pure muscle. How do you not have an omega?”

Wonho shook Shownu’s hands off him. “Why do you always have to ask me that?”

“Eh, Minhyuk here has never had an omega either,” Changkyun reminded them. “Or… does he?” 

Minhyuk, who had been eating his salad in peace, glared at Changkyun. “I’m not seeing Hyungwon.”

Changkyun smirked at him. “I never said his name.”

_ Says the one who can’t even ask out Kihyun _ , Minhyuk thought, but only rolled his eyes and took another bite of his salad. 

“Really, Changkyun, right in front of his salad?” Jooheon yelled at him. “You can’t even ask out Kihyun-”

“OKAY, THAT IS  _ NOT  _ MY FAULT-”   
  


  
***

_ Date: November 5, 2020 _

_ Time: 7:04 PM _

_ So the sleepover is tomorrow at Jooheon’s house, per Shownu’s request. So.. _

_ Yeah, I don’t really like sleeping over at people’s houses, but I can’t come up with a lie. Unless I, like, fake being sick or something. But even then, knowing Jooheon’s family, they’ll try to take care of me, so that’s a no. _

_ I would ask my mom to tell them that I’m not allowed to come over, but she lets me do a bunch of stuff, so they’ll never believe me. Or I can say Aunt Hyolyn had something come up and wanted my help? _

_ Nah, it’s a Friday night. She watches her kdramas while eating ice cream. Everyone knows that. _

_ Minhyuk’s list of possible excuses _ _ : _

_   
_ _ 1\.  _ ~~_ Homework _ ~~ _ sometimes we do homework together,  _

_ 2\. ~~Claim i got grounded~~ _ _ I don’t remember the last time I was grounded _

_ 3\. ~~A relative asked for a favor~~ _ _ Again, on a Friday? _

_ 4\. ~~Sick but BEFORE i get there~~ _ _ They’ll try to come and make me feel better _

_ 5\. I get a job _

  
  


_ \--- _

“Mom.”

His mother didn’t look up, as she was busy making rice for dinner. “What’s wrong, Minhyuk.”

“Can I get a job?”

_ That’s  _ when she looked at him. “What do you need a job for?”

Uh… “Because I want to buy stuff.”

“Nonsense, Minhyuk, is your allowance not enough?” She raised her spoon high, threatening to hit Minhyuk. “Are you buying drugs?”

“Mom, do I  _ look  _ like I know any drug dealers?” Minhyuk said, rolling his eyes. Blame it on her to always think about those things. Despite her giving him freedom, she gets scared that he’ll do sex, alcohol and drugs… would she be happy if he told her he only does one of those things? “I just don’t like asking you for money.”

“Nonsense, Minhyuk, remember that you time should be spent on school and your friends,” she said, turning back around to do the rice. “You don’t need to work.”

“But-but mom-”

“No buts, MInhyuk, now go tell your brother that dinner is almost ready.”   
  
\---

_ 5\. ~~I get a job~~ _ _ Mom said no _

_ Maybe I can do an illegal job? One that doesn’t report taxes and gives me cash? _

_ Nah, the last thing I need is to get caught by the cops and mother yelling at me. Hiding the fact that I drink is bad enough.  _

_ I think I just got an idea.  _

_ 6\. Plans with Hyungwon _

***

Despite almost always bumping into Hyungwon in one situation or another, Minhyuk  _ still  _ didn’t know his last name. Thus, he decided this would be a great conversation starter with the omega Friday morning. 

He was lucky to see Hyungwon at his locker, putting some books in, a few minutes before homeroom, giving Minhyuk time to talk to him before the bell rang.

Hyungwon closed the locker door and was met with Minhyuk’s face. He jumped back, startled. “What are you doing here?”

“What’s your surname?” Minhyuk asked abruptly. 

Hyungwon shook his head. “You’re gonna have to try a lot harder than that if you're planning on hacking into my email."

“I don’t even know your surname, much less your email address,” Minhyuk defended himself. 

Hyungwon glared at him. “What do you want my last name for?”

Minhyuk shrugged. “It’s a good conversation starter.”

“It’s Chae, now go away.” Hyungwon closed his locker and walked off, leaving Minhyuk to trail behind him.

“Chae Hyungwon, I am not done with you yet.”

Hyungwon turned around. “Do you not know how to take no for an answer? You’re literally stalking me-”

“Hey Minhyuk!” Shownu appeared Minhyuk, clapping a hand on his shoulder. “Are you excited for today?!”

Minhyuk slumped his shoulders. “I’ll be there!” he said in a fake cheerful tone.

“Oh, you guys are doing something Friday?” Hyungwon asked Shownu. “I was going to ask him to hang out.”

Shownu’s eyes widened. “I didn’t know you guys were seeing each other-”

“We’re not,” Hyungwon said, his voice monotone paired with a deadpan expression. “He owes me.”

Hyungwon could see Minhyuk’s thankful face. “Yeah I’m busy today-”

“Nah, you can steal him Hyungwon, he’s all yours,” Shownu said, pushing Minhyuk closer towards Hyungwon. “Have fun on your date!”

“It’s not a date,” Minhyuk and Hyungwon said in unison.

“Sure looks like it-”

“Shownu, shut up and go away!” Minhyuk yelled at the latter.

“Fine, fine, enjoy your time together, love birds,” Shownu said, walking away.

Hyungwon stared at Minhyuk, waiting for Shownu to be gone. “Why don’t you want to go? You’re not good at saying no, too?”

“I hate sleeping over other people’s houses,” Minhyuk said. “But I can’t exactly tell them that.”

“Seems legit.”

“Anyways, I need your phone number, for, uh, you know, whatever we’re doing.”

Hyungwon held out his palm. “Give me your phone.”   
  


  
***

_ Date: November 6, 2020 _

_ Time: 8:25 AM _

_ So, homeroom is going to start in five minutes. Currently listening to the Humanoids album again. I have time for, like, one song.  _

_ Anyways, so apparently Hyungwon and I are doing something today. I have no idea how he noticed that I don’t want to go, but like I said before, I don’t know too much about him.  _

_ I feel bad for ditching them, but I really hate sleeping over other people’s houses. Maybe I can just invite them to come over another day.  _

_ Though now I’m wondering… what could Hyungwon possibly be planning? _ _   
_ _   
_ ***

“Guess who got himself an omega and now isn’t coming over,” Shownu said during lunch.

Minhyuk gave him a look. “Shownu, can you not?”

“You have an omega?!” Changkyun exclaimed, throwing his sandwich on his tray to look at his friend. “I need all the details  _ now- _ ”

“He’s talking about Hyungwon, and no, he’s not my omega, now let me eat my noodles in peace-”

“Minhyuk and Hyungwon sitting on a tree~~” Jooheon sang. 

  
“Swear to god-”

“Shownu, why don’t  _ you _ get an omega,” Changkyun suggested. “At least me and Minhyuk have someone of interest.”

“Excuse  _ me,  _ I just lost a girlfriend a while ago, do you not remember?!” Shownu defended himself. 

Minhyuk rolled his eyes. “I think we  _ all  _ remember you beating up your best friend over your first disagreement.”

Everyone at the table stared at Minhyuk, surprised. 

Shownu balled up his fists in anger. “That’s not what happened and you know it-”

“No, that’s what happens when you don’t shut up and let people explain themselves,” Minhyuk continued to argue. “First thing you did when you saw Hyungwon was also to sock him in the face, right?”

“That’s because you kept complaining how he was stalking you!!” Shownu got up from the table, pushing his chair away which made a loud screech. A lot of people in the cafeteria were now looking at him, though Shownu didn’t seem to notice. “Not my fault for trying to defend you-”

“Shownu, maybe you should stop-” Changkyun tried to interject. 

“Shut up, Changkyun, you’re a fucking hypocrite, too!” Shownu yelled. “I’m not the one trying to get with an omega while whoring around!"

Changkyun got up from his chair too. “Don’t fucking call me a whore, Son Hyunwoo.”

“Don’t fucking call me Hyunwoo, you whore-”

Changkyun jumped over the table and slammed into Shownu, the two falling onto the chair before hitting the ground. 

People immediately got up and started recording, and Minhyuk was getting a sudden deja vu feeling. 

“Shownu, stop!” Wonho tried to pull Shownu away from Changkyun, but it was no use. The two were throwing punches at each other, and Changkyun accidentally hit Wonho’s jaw.

Minhyuk and Jooheon tried their best to pull Changkyun away from Shownu, and by then, the police officer who oversaw the lunch periods came over and pulled them apart, along with the principal and a teacher. 

“YOU FUCKING BITCH!!” Changkyun yelled as he was being pulled away from Shownu. “STOP BEING SUCH AN AGGRESSIVE ALPHA!!” 

“STOP BEING SUCH A HOE!!” Shownu yelled back, struggling to get out of the grasp of the police officer. “KIHYUN IS NEVER GOING TO SUCK YOU DICK AT THIS RATE!”

“AT LEAST I’M NOT OBLIVIOUS OVER PEOPLE’S FEELINGS TOWARDS ME!!” 

“COCK-SUCKING WHORE!!”

“LOUD AS FUCK ASSHOLE!!!”   
  


  
***

_ Date: November 6, 2020 _

_ Time: 12:10 PM _

_ You know, I have the sudden feeling that I’m going to get grounded. For real this time.  _

_ Last time I got away with it, even though I had detention, because I told my mom that I only witnessed it and wasn’t even paying attention. This time is different, though - I reminded Shownu about the incident and Changkyun was trying to defend me. May not have actually been in the fight, but still.  _

_ Have a really strong feeling that the sleepover won’t happen anymore, also my fault. I just didn’t want to sleep over someone’s house. Remember the last time that happened?  _

_ Mom is TOTALLY not going to let me hang out with Hyungwon, too, so I guess I can text him and let him know that, thanks for covering me earlier, but I don’t need an excuse anymore. Though I was really looking forward to hanging out.  _

***

“Minhyuk, can you tell me what happened?” His aunt Hyloyn asked him in the car, driving home. His father and mother were busy at work, so he aunt Hyolyn picked him up instead. 

Minhyuk shrugged. “It was Shownu and Changkyun this time.”

“Isn’t this Shownu’s second fight this month?”

“Indeed it is.”

Aunt Hyolyn frowned. Thank god she had to look at the road and couldn’t see Minhyuk, although Minhyuk certainly wouldn’t mind if he crashed. Well, a little bit - he doesn’t want his aunt to get hurt, after all. “How are you planning on telling your father?”

“He doesn’t care and mom would just be glad that I wasn’t hurt or involved,” Minhyuk said.

“True, true.” Hyolyn slowed down the car at the red stoplight. “Shownu needs to have better anger management, being an alpha doesn’t excuse him for that behavior.”

“I know, I know. I just think he should shut up more.”   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i feel like there is way more angst than what i intended


	6. How Am I Not Grounded

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please read the ending note at the end of this chapter for an announcement regarding this fic.

Later during the day that Friday, Wonho called Minhyuk, asking him why he provoked Shownu. 

“I wasn’t provoking a fight with him,” Minhyuk defended himself. “He’s the one who started getting aggressive.”

“But you went over the line,” Wonho continued. “I understand if the Hyungwon comments and incident bothered you, but for one, he had already apologized for that fight, and there was no need to bring up the fight between me and him.”

“I was just exposing a pattern, Wonho.” Minhyuk closed his math textbook, since clearly he wasn’t going to get any work done at this rate. “Someone needs to call out on his bullshit.”

“During lunch on a Friday when he was excited for a  _ sleepover _ ?” Minhyuk could hear how Wonho’s voice was laced with disappointment in him. He wasn’t even in the fight, for crying out loud. “Couldn’t you have waited a little longer?”

“Okay, Wonho, it’s not like I made him fight,” Minhyuk argued. 

“Really? Then why did you bring up the fight that happened between me and him a few weeks ago?”

Minhyuk opened his mouth to speak but closed it.

“Look, I know Shownu can get a little… aggressive…” Wonho continued. “But now he thinks that I’ve been bitching to others about him and, well-”

“No, you’re right, Wonho, I stepped over the line.” Minhyuk ran his free hand through his hair, resisting the urge to pull some strands. “Look, I’ll talk to him tomorrow, okay?”

“Sorry I just- you know I don’t like people fighting,” Wonho explained. “And Shownu and I never fight this often, so-”

“Yeah, no worries, Wonho, don’t worry.”   
  


  
***

_ Date: November 6, 2020 _

_ Time: 7:19 PM _

_ So I’m not grounded, surprisingly. Again, since I didn’t take part in the fight. Mom doesn’t know that I provoked it, though, and I don’t want her to know that. _

_ Aunt Hyolyn was nice about the whole ordeal, though, and she also didn’t scold me about the fight. It was awfully kind of her to pick me up from school. I feel kind of bad.  _

_ So. Thing with Hyungwon is still on for tonight. No idea what we’re doing. He just said he’ll be outside my house at nine, waiting for me. Kind of weird how he knows where I live but yet I don’t even know his address. At least I finally know his surname.  _

_ Chae Hyungwon. It sounds okay. Better than my name, Lee Minhyuk. There’s so many Lees and so many Minhyuks everywhere in this goddamn country. Although I’m glad that my family isn’t Kim, then I would  _ absolutely  _ have a very common name.  _

_ But Chae. I don’t know anyone who is a Chae, much less a Hyungwon. I know this kid who's a Cha, but he doesn’t go to this school and he’s always with this tall quiet kid that gives off a murderous vibe. Yeah, I’m not fucking with that, I know I joke about death a lot, but I don’t want to be murdered, thank you very much.  _

_ Chae Hyungwon.  _

_ I like his name. _

  
  


***

At 8:54 PM, Minhyuk told his mother that he was going outside to hang out with a friend (“who are you going to hang out” “a guy named Hyungwon” “oh okay, make sure not to stay out too late”) and he sat down on the concrete porch, phone in his pocket as he hated for Hyungwon.

Not even a minute passed when he saw someone in the distance walking on the sidewalk, hoodie covering half his face, hands stuffed in his pockets. It was obviously Hyungwon; despite being an omega, he was unusually tall, taller than all of Minhyuk and his friends. He was really skinny, too, really lanky, almost like a stick. Minhyuk wondered if he even ate. 

Hyungwon looked at the house and pulled down his hoodie when he saw Minhyuk, not wanting the alpha to think he was a robber burglarizing the place. With the way Minhyuk’s mind work, clearly the thought would cross his mind at least once.

MInhyuk grinned when he saw the omega, standing up from where he just sat down to walk towards Hyungwon. “Hey, you came.”

Hyungwon rolled his eyes. “Do I  _ look  _ like the type of person to come late?”

“No, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t want to hang.” MInhyuk took out his phone to check the time, 8:56 PM. “I’m sure you heard about the fight in school.”

“Shownu  _ does  _ get in a lot of fights,” Hyungwon admitted, taking his hands out of his hoodie to stuff them in his back pockets instead, rolling back and forth on his feet. “Pretty sure he gave me a scar.”

Minhyuk’s eyes widened at Hyungwon’s statement. “He gave you a  _ what? _ !”

“A scar.” Hyungwon pulled down the collar of his hoodie and shirt. “I know it’s dark, but I have a scar here on my collarbone from where he made a deep scratch.” 

“Oh, shit, that really sucks-”

“Nah, don’t worry about it.” Hyungwon let go of his hoodie and shrugged. “I have a lot of scars, anyways. Mostly mosquito bites, but yeah.”

“Yeah, I have those, too.” MInhyuk pulled up his sleeve to show to small, faded circles dotting his arm. “I have a bad habit of picking my scabs.”

“Just tell yourself you’ll dab alcohol on it afterwards and scare yourself.”

Minhyuk shook his head, pulling his sleeve back down. “Nah, I’d rather drink the alcohol.”

“ _ Rubbing _ alcohol, idiot.” Hyungwon started walking away from here. “Hurry up, I only got a few hours before I go to work.”

  
  


***

  
  


Hyungwon took him to a diner downtown in the city, sliding into a booth. “I come here when I’m hungry.”

Minhyuk slid across from him, continuing to look around the diner. “This looks… comforting…”

“I know you know there are gangs here, don’t worry, nobody is going to shoot you.” Hyungwon opened the menu that they had grabbed on the way. “Just don’t stare at them and you’ll be good.”

Hyungwon  _ was  _ right about the gang part. There were groups of alphas and rare omega sitting together, looking like your cliche gangs with tattoos and leather and murderous glares. He wasn’t right about the staring, though; Minhyuk was pretty sure that they would beat him up regardless.

“Stop staring and order something,” Hyungwon harshly whispered at him, tugging Minhyuk’s sleeve. “You don’t even know what food they serve here.”

“Korean, what other food would they sell here?” Minhyuk opened his own menu, staring at the pictures and descriptions. “Woah, this is  _ not  _ Korean.”

“I always get strong cravings for mooncakes as a dessert, sorry to burst your bubble.” Hyungwon pointed at a picture of rice. “Chinese rice is better than Korean rice.”

“That’s where you're wrong, buddy, Korean rice is the superior rice,” Minhyuk argued, glancing over the list of foods on the menu. “Though this looks good."

“Even Indian and Mexican rice is better than Korean rice, bleh.” Hyungwon glanced over Minhyuk’s shoulder, tapping his arm. “The waiter’s already here.”

“Already?! I haven’t even read anything yet-”

“Are you guys ready to order?” The waiter, who just came over to where they were sitting, asked them, a notepad in his hand. His accent was definitely not Chinese and Minhyuk was pretty sure he went to their high school. 

“Yeah, can I get sweet and sour pork with Yang Chow fried rice?” Hyungwon asked, pointing to the respective locations on the menu. 

“Certainly.” The waiter wrote it in his notepad and then looked at Minhyuk. “And for you, what would you like?”

Minhyuk took a quick glance at the menu and said the first thing he saw. “Just chicken lo mein, thanks.”

“Anything to drink?”

“Uh…..-”

“Give us both water, please.” Hyungwon grabbed Minhyuk’s menu and stacked them together, handing them to the waiter. “Thanks.”

“No problem, I’ll be right back with your food.” The waiter took their menus and left them alone, heading to the back of the restaurant. 

Hyungwon sighed, glaring at Minhyuk. “You take too long.”

“I didn’t even look at the menu!” Minhyuk shrieked, thankful that the restaurant was loud and no one could hear him. There were too many people here for his liking, but thankfully him and Hyungwon were at the corner, where there weren't a lot of people. “I don’t even know Chinese food!”

“You right, I should have warned you.” Hyungwon lifted up his hoodie and pulled it over his head, his plain white t-shirt raising up a little, exposing his flat stomach. “To be fair, you ramble about so much random shit.”

“How was I supposed to know you weren’t leading me somewhere where we could be killed,” Minhyuk muttered, crossing his arms. “You have weird tastes in everything.”

“Says the guy who likes Korean rice, but okay.” Hyungwon balled up his hoodie and put it on the table, setting his head on it, looking away from Minhyuk. “Food should be ready in less than five minutes.” 

“It can’t be ready  _ that  _ long, the place is full with people,” Minhyuk argued. 

Hyungwon rolled his eyes, even though Minhyuk couldn’t see his eyes. “Whatever you say, clearly your an expert.”

Minhyuk checked the time on his phone. “Bet.”

The food came five minutes later.

  
***

“Did the waiter look familiar to you?” Minhyuk asked him an hour later. They had left the restaurant and were just walking around the city, full of bustling people. It was, after all, not even midnight on a Friday night.

“You  _ gotta be _ kidding me,” Hyungwon muttered under his breath. “You really don’t know Allen?”

Minhyuk stared at him, tilting his head in confusion. “Who the fuck is Allen?”

“The guy in our chemistry class?” Hyungwon asked. “He sits in the row in front of me?”

“He’s in our  _ class? _ ” Minhyuk asked, surprised. “No way, why is he working here?”

“Because his parents are Taiwanese?”

“No way, I thought he was Korean,” Minhyuk whispered under his breath. “His Korean was so good.”

“Just because a language is your second language doesn’t mean you automatically suck at it,” Hyungwon argued. “You guess too much.

“Probably.”   
  


  
***

Minhyuk headed home around four am, having tagged along Hyungwon to his work. Surprisingly, he did  _ not  _ drink alcohol, sitting next to the omega time. There wasn’t much they could talk about since Hyungwon did have stuff to do and the place was freaking loud, but there he stayed with the latter the entire time. 

He managed to enter his home quietly, not making any noise as he quickly headed upstairs to his room, locking the door before lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling for a few minutes before sitting up, digging through his book bag for his journal. 

Even though he was practically deadbeat tired, he still set it down on his desk and sat down, grabbing his favorite black pen from the drawer before uncapping and getting straight to writing.   
  


  
***

_ Date: November 7, 2020 _

_ Time: 4:31 AM _

_ Things I have learned about Hyungwon today: _

  1. _He has a lot of scars. Mainly mosquito bite scars. One scar made from Shownu. Will grill him later after I apologize about the whole incident today._



  1. _He hates Korean rice, EVEN THOUGH HE IS KOREAN. Like that is such a big disgrace. How can you hate Korean rice? It’s the best rice in the entire world. Fuck his Chinese and Indian and French and Greek and whatever rice. I don’t care. I like Korean rice. (Although I did try his food, he gave me small bites of it. Good rice, but Korean was still better.)_



  1. _He has a very irregular sleep schedule every day. He sleeps after getting home from school, since he is “alone and no one is around”. I asked what he meant, he just shrugged. Will ask him about it another time._



  1. _He knows about a lot of things about people, even though he doesn’t talk to him. For example, he asked me how long Wonho had had a crush on Shownu. I was so confused, Wonho has never had a crush on Shownu, they’re even both alphas. Not that it’s bad, but… it’s just so rare and frowned upon. When I asked him what led to that assumption, he just said it’s obvious. Will ask Wonho about it._



  1. _When Hyungwon laughs and smiles, there’s this dimple that appears. Just one dimple, one on his right cheek._



  1. _He’s ticklish, especially on his stomach. It’s a really flat stomach and, like what I suspected, Hyungwon only eats at school, sometimes splurging at this Chinese diner. It’s still a cute and ticklish stomach, though, really soft._



  1. _His lips look really soft. They’re like peach color. A little chapped; he has a hate against chapsticks, saying “they don’t do_ shit _, and I lose them all the time._ ”



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !!!ATTENTION!!!
> 
> Due to COVID19 situations that I am currently in, starting Sunday, I will have LIMITED access on the internet, much less time to write fanfictions. This means that as I try to write one last chapter in my other fanfics to let my readers know, this is probably the last update on this story for a while. The next update will probably be in two weeks or a month, but it is uncertain. I will NOT be abandoning this fic, however, that is for sure, I just won't be updating so quickly anymore. I'm really sorry about this, but as you know, these aren't good times for anyone, and all I can tell you is to remember to stay safe, and let's look forward to Monsta X's comeback. Thank you.


	7. Idiots Everywhere

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I HAVE INTERNET FOR AN HOUR SO IM UPLOADING MY FINISHED CHAPTERS ALSO STAY SAFE DURING THE COVID19 AND THE PROTESTS!!

Minhyuk was pulled out of his unconsciousness when he heard someone knocking heavily on his bedroom door.

“MINHYUK! IT’S 1 PM AND AUNT HYOLYN IS HERE!”

Minhyuk sat up straighter on his desk, moving his stiff neck in circles. “Sorry, eomma, I was doing some writing!”

He slowly opened his eyes only to shut them again; he had accidentally left the curtains open, causing the harsh sunlight to be in his room. 

After opening them again, forcing his eyes to get used to the light, Minhyuk got out of his chair and opened the door to his room, where his mother was standing, waiting for him. “Hey, ma.”

“Minhyuk, I’m concerned for you,” she said, grabbing his chin to tilt his head upwards. “You have bags under your eyes-”

“Mom, I’m a high schooler, you can’t honestly expect me to have a good night’s sleep.” He shook his head aggressively and pulled back, making his mother lose her grip on him. “I fell asleep on my desk again doing work.”

“Remember, Minhyuk, you shouldn’t have to have unhealthy habits regarding homework,” she reminded him. “It can lead you to drinking alcohol-”

“I’m  _ fine _ , mom.” Minhyuk walked past her, heading to the top of the stairs. “Didn’t you say Aunt Hyolyn was here?”   
  


***

When Aunt Hyolyn left, Minhyuk picked up his phone in his room, hesitating to press Shownu’s number. 

Was Shownu still mad at him? How mad was he, compared to the others? To be fair, Changkyun  _ was  _ the one who got in the fight with him, but Shownu was even giving the silent treatment to Wonho, his best friend who had been defending him the entire fight. Maybe he was just mad at everyone. 

Minhyuk pressed on Shownu’s number and held the phone to his ear, praying that Shownu would pick it up. 

The number went to ringtone. 

Now, this raised many questions. Clearly, Shownu had not blocked Minhyuk, so he wasn’t  _ extremely  _ mad. He didn’t pick up, but Shownu had no problem denying the call if he didn’t want to talk to you, but Shownu  _ always  _ had his phone in hand, so it was really weird that he wasn’t able to make a decision in time. 

He’s probably grounded. 

Minhyuk tried to call again, thinking maybe Shownu was in the bathroom or something, but even then Shownu would just decline, even if he was in the shower. One time, Shownu had called him  _ while  _ he was in the shower. He didn’t give a fuck. 

Eh. He’ll call him later. 

  
  


***

Minhyuk had been too afraid to text back Hyungwon after their dinner Friday, so when they went back to school the following Monday, he couldn’t help but freeze when he saw Hyungwon at his locker. 

The latter had earbuds in, putting some books away while taking out others. He didn’t seem to be paying attention to anyone in the hallway, so he had yet to notice Minhyuk standing nearby, gawking at him. 

Okay, so he had three seconds to think about what he should do. Should he walk up to Hyungwon confidently, asking him about his weekend? Should he walk away and just deal with it later? Should-

Three seconds were up. 

Hyungwon closed his locker and looked at where Minhyuk was, grinning when he saw the latter. Minhyuk recognized the dimple present on his right cheek. 

Naturally, Minhyuk did the usual and froze like an idiot. 

Hyungwon stopped smiling and stared at him, tilting his head in confusion. He opened his mouth to say something, but right at that moment, the five-minute warning bell rang, so Minhyuk sprinted away to his homeroom, trying to ignore whatever it was beating in his heart. 

  
  


***

_ Date: November 9, 2020 _

_ Time: 8:28 AM _

_ I can’t BELIEVE I just stood there like an idiot.  _

_ Like, I just STOOD THERE. Doing NOTHING. What is wrong with me?!?! _

_ To be fair, I was thinking of what would be the appropriate thing to do and he didn’t give me time for that, although he didn’t exactly know I was standing there.  _

_ Oh, fuck, now he’s gonna think I’m an asshole or something, especially since we just hung out with each other during the weekend. Man, I wish I had his phone number or something.  _

_ Wait a minute.  _

  
  


***

When his homeroom teacher was doing roll call, Minhyuk took out his phone and searched through his contacts and clicked on the profile Chae Hyungwon. 

They had exchanged a total of five messages on Friday, which basically went like this: 

_ Hey, this is Minhyuk _

_ Oh hey _

_ Just asking, what time are we meeting? _

_ I’ll be at your house at nine _

_ Oh okay _

And that was it. 

Minhyuk stared at the five messages, thinking about what to say. What would his friends recommend, anyways-

No, that was a bad idea. They would all just be flirts. 

He bit his tongue and just typed the first thing that went through his mind.  _ Hey sorry for freezing in the hallway earlier _

He clicked send and turned off his phone, staring at the teacher who was still doing roll calls. 

The teacher called out his name and he said present, as always, but refused to look at his phone for a good minute. Hyungwon probably already thought the worst of him anyways. 

Minhyuk had to answer the text eventually, but he still wanted to prepare himself mentally. What if Hyungwon told him to fuck off or something? Would he do that?  _ Was  _ Chae Hyungwon capable of doing that?

Before paranoia got the best of him, Minhyuk forced himself to grab his phone, heart skipping a beat when he saw that Hyungwon already responded. 

_ I figured something was up, you looked like I murdered someone.  _

Hyungwon could murder someone, MInhyuk thought. He was able to drag Minhyuk’s intoxicated body across the street during the dead middle of the night after all. Plus, he did visit diners with gangs and worked in a fighting ring. 

Yeah, Hyungwon was capable of murder. 

_ Not gonna lie, I don’t know what came over me,  _ Minhyuk texted back to Hyungwon, already calming down. He overthought everything. 

Not even ten seconds later, Hyungwon sent him some laughing emoticons, along with the text  _ you look like you got possessed _ .

Minhyuk felt more at ease now, although his heart still continued skipping beats. 

  
  


***

Since Shownu and Changkyun were suspended for a few days, the table felt bare with just Jooheon, Wonho and Minhyuk, the three of them eating their lunch quietly, with Wonho and Jooheon trying to make small talk with each other. 

Jooheon couldn’t control his curiosity and asked Minhyuk, “Have you talked to Shownu recently?”

Minhyuk shook his head, grabbing another spoonful of rice. “The call went to voicemail.”

“Same for me,” Wonho admitted. “He never leaves me in voicemail.”

“He’s probably grounded or something,” Jooheon said, taking another bite of his burger before continuing, not even swallowing. “You know how his parents like to pretend they’re good role models and that shit.”

“I mean, he’s been in fights but he’s never been grounded from them,” Wonho explained.

“That’s because he always wins them,” Jooheon told him. “You know that they like how he proves himself to be an alpha-”

“Hoseok doesn’t do it for that,” Wonho argued back. “You know he doesn’t think like that.”

Minhyuk decided not to get into their conversation, choosing to eat his rice and chicken. Changkyun hasn’t been responding to his texts to him either, only a few just to remind Minhyuk that he was still alive, just not in the mood. Minhyuk understood completely, but he knew it would be harder in the long wrong for him and Shownu to make up. 

It was definitely going to be harder than Shownu and Wonho making up. For one, it turned out Wonho’s “accusation” was true, and plus, they already had a lot of background as being best friends since forever, it was definitely easier for them two. 

Although now that Minhyuk thought about it, Wonho did accept Shownu’s apology immediately without giving it a second thought. If Changkyun and Minhyuk got into a fight, both of them would be a bit reluctant or at least ask for time to get over their anger. Wonho though? Not at all. 

Minhyuk thought about what Hyungwon told him Friday, about how it looked like Wonho had a crush on Shownu. It certainly put some pieces of the puzzle together; Wonho didn’t accept apologies easily, only from Shownu.

Maybe it was just because they were best friends and wanted nothing to do with arguments? That seemed like the most plausible reason. 

  
  


***

_ Date: November 9, 2020 _

_ Time: 4:53 PM _

_ I have a lot of homework to do but I don’t feel like doing it.  _

_ To be honest, I feel like getting drunk, but Changkyun tells me that it’s not cool to get wasted before 10 PM, especially on a Monday unless it’s like a special occasion or something. The good thing is, it’s around the middle of the night in California.  _

_ Nah, I won’t get drunk yet. I have yet to have dinner anyways, and mom would definitely suspect something. Last thing I need is for her to discover I drink and to start yelling at me.  _

_ Anyways, no homework yet. I have some stuff I need to write down before I forget. Like how Changkyun told me if we could meet later at his house later. No idea what he wants to talk about, but it most likely has to do with the fight between him and Shownu. Speaking of Shownu… _

_ Reasons why Wonho might be in love with Shownu:  _

  * _Always accepts Shownu’s apologies way too quickly_


  * Literally praises Shownu for everything


  * Stays quiet when the topic of omega comes up


  * Lowkey kind of jealous whenever Shownu is seeing someone



_ Reasons why Wonho might not be in love with Shownu: _ _   
  
_

  * _Literally all of the above can be described being due to their friendship (except for number 3)_



_ Maybe Hyungwon was just wrong, although I’m still trying to come up with a possible response to number three. He’s probably just shy about relationships in general. Everyone knows he can get an omega very easily and that many alphas in school are envious of him.  _

_ Wonho is just the type of person to put a heavy value on their friendship. Besides, they’re both alphas. I really doubt they’re the types to like other alphas, Shownu talks about omegas way too much. Not Wonho, sure, but Shownu, definitely.  _

_ Who knows. _

  
  


***

Minhyuk headed to Changkyun’s place after dinner, checking up on how he was doing. Hopefully he didn’t get into too much trouble. He hasn’t exactly told Minhyuk the aftermath of being in the fight with Shownu. 

He knocked on the door, expecting Changkyun’s parents to answer, but Changkyun opened it himself. “Hey,” he said when he recognized Minhyuk. 

“Hey,” Minhyuk replied back. 

The two stayed in silence for a few seconds before Minhyuk spoke again. “How’s everything going?”

“Eh, nothing really, I just stay at home all day,” Changkyun answered. Minhyuk could see the faint bruises decorating his jaw and arms. “How’s school with the gang?”

“It’s just me, Jooheon and Wonho,” MInhyuk explained. “When do you come back after suspension?”

“Wednesday,” Changkyun said. “And so does him.” Changkyun stepped aside, waving for MInhyuk to come in. “Come on.”

Minhyuk followed him inside, noticing how the house was empty. It’s probably why Changkyun wanted him to come at this hour, anyways. Hopefully he didn’t try to make MInhyuk stay the night or something. 

“Where’s your family?” Minhyuk asked when Changkyun sat down on the couch, Minhyuk doing the same. “It’s really late.”

“They had some preppy party or some shit, I don’t know, just something that involves wine.” Changkyun grabbed a decorative pillow and hugged it tightly. “Sorry for ruining everything, I’m an idiot.”

“No, it was my fault, I was the one who pushed Shownu,” Minhyuk admitted. “Even though he became really aggressive. I haven’t talked to him at all.”

“Yeah, I’m not talking to him for a good amount of time,” Changkyun said. “He’s such a bitch.”

“But he’s still our friend, though,” Minhyuk reminded him. 

Changkyun laughed. “Our friend? More like he only hangs out with us when it’s convenient to him. Even to his so-called best friend, Wonho, he has him follow him like a sick puppy.”

“Maybe because they’re best friends?”

Changkyun shook his head. “No, because Wonho’s in love with him, why do you think he lets Shownu get away with everything?”

“You can’t assume people like each other since they’re close friends,” Minhyuk argued. “You shouldn’t make that assumption?”

“Who told you that was an assumption?” Changkyun asked him. “Wonho told me that himself.” 


	8. Love?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> back to updating regularly! remember to stay safe guys

_ Date: November 10, 2020 _

_ Time: 4:06 AM _

_ So apparently Wonho is in love with Shownu. I did not see that coming.  _

_ Looks like Hyungwon was right. Interesting. But wasn’t he a new student like a few weeks ago? Like early October? How did he figure that out in only a month? Hyungwon doesn’t even talk to them, for crying out loud, apparently he only talked to Changkyun like once to pick me up when I was drunk, and Shownu when that fight happened.  _

_ Well, it was mainly a drunk Shownu punching him but yeah.  _

_ Hyungwon told me back on Friday that it was just “obvious.” Is that what it looks like to an outsider? Do others at school think this? Maybe, since all the omegas get sad when Wonho rejects them-  _

_ HOLY SHIT THAT’S WHY HE ALWAYS REJECTS THEM!!! _

_ Wonho has never, and I mean NEVER, gone out with an omega. Ever. And if it’s because of Shownu… damn, how long as he had a crush on him? _

_ Changkyun told me earlier that Wonho told him on accident when he got drunk once. Drunk Wonho has no regards for his safety, so it seems believable. Basically, this was around last year when Shownu was seeing that one omega Youngmin for three months, and Wonho basically sobbed his heart out while drinking soju. Next day, Changkyun confronts him about it, Wonho tries to deny it, but eventually admits it.  _

_ That kind of sucks, to be honest. Imagine liking someone you have no chance with. Shownu is WAY too obsessed with omegas to even think about liking an alpha, much less one of his friends. I feel sorry for Wonho. Plus, if word gets out… _

***

At around 4 am, Hyungwon was able to go home, thankfully, so he pocketed the cash that his boss gave him and left the bar, giving the bouncer his usual goodbye as he walked down the street alone in the dark, phone out ready to call 119 should anything arrive. 

Which is why when his phone started ringing a good twenty minutes later, he started panicking; did he accidentally call the emergency services?? They were going to charge him, oh god, he did not have enough money to pay the fine-

He looked at his phone and rolled his eyes, criticizing himself. Minhyuk’s name was displayed and Hyungwon was  _ receiving  _ the call, not making one. He was so fucking stupid. 

He only had to call 119 twice, anyways, and they always picked up quickly. However, now this left him wondering why in the world was Minhyuk calling him at  _ this  _ hour? 

Hyungwon had to admit, he did not have a good sleep schedule, but neither did Minhyuk. Only the alpha would find the need to call someone at 4 am. At least Hyungwon was  _ working _ . 

Sighing, he slid the button and pressed his phone against his ear, thankful that no one else was on the dark streets. “Hello?”

“How did you know Wonho had a crush on Shownu?” Minhyuk said in a single breath. 

“ _ That’s  _ why you’re calling me at 4 am?!” Hyungwon screamed into the receiver. “Really? You stayed up late for this??”

“I’ll have you know, I actually went to sleep around ten today after visiting Changkyun,” Minhyuk told him, “and I woke up around four in the morning, a solid six hours of sleep.”

“Not healthy but okay.”

“You didn’t answer my question, though, how did you know Wonho liked Shownu?” Minhyuk reiterated. 

Hyungwon turned the corner of the street, his free hand reaching into his back pocket, ready to pull out his pocket knife. “I told you, it’s obvious.”

“But  _ how _ ?” Minhyuk continued asking. 

“I- do you want me to write a full fledged essay or something?” Hyungwon yelled at him. “Don’t you know what love is?”

Minhyuk stayed silent for a few seconds. “I mean, no, not really, just a few crushes here and there-"

“No, not- never mind, forget it, look, I’ll- I’ll just write you a list or something by Friday, just give me time,” Hyungwon said. “I’m on my way home, I need to finish my homework before school starts-”

“Homework? Why are you doing homework now- oh, yeah, you sleep weird-”

“Says the alpha calling me at 4 am, but go off I guess,” Hyungwon muttered. 

“I just woke up, though.”

“That’s what you call a fucked-up sleep schedule.”

“No,” Minhyuk denied. “That’s what you call a normal high school student in the 21st century.”

Hyungwon wanted to laugh, but he remembered he was outside in the dark. “Fair point.”   
  


  
***

  
  


The next day at school, Minhyuk told himself that he would pay extra attention to Wonho and see how he reacts when anything related to Shownu came up. 

Granted, Changkyun already proved Wonho’s crush, but Minhyuk still had his doubts about it. Wonho was just a good friend to Shownu, after all. Just because you are good friends means that you would be a good couple. Plus, again, they’re both alphas, which is both deemed controversial and a rarity. Would Wonho, someone who is always cautious, be like that?

He stopped Wonho at his locker during the morning before homeroom, wanting to pry information. “Hey, have you heard from Shownu yet?” Minhyuk asked. Shownu had yet to answer his calls or messages. 

Wonho shook his head. “No, he’s not responding.”

“Why don’t we go to his house later, see if something’s up?” Minhyuk suggested. Sure, he wanted information of these two, but he was still worried about Shownu and needed to apologize. “We can ask Jooheon to come along-”

“I- uh, yeah, we should all go along,” Wonho agreed, stuffing his last set of textbooks into his locker. “He can’t be mad at all three of us, but I’m worried his parents will say something.”

“Nah, they won’t be, trust me, in fact, they should appreciate that Shownu has friends that are concerned for him,” Minhyuk persuaded him. 

Wonho shook his head, closing his locker. “You don’t know Shownu’s parents."

“But I know Shownu,” Minhyuk said. “And I know you.”

Wonho bit his lip, standing there in silence until he spoke up again. “We should go there after school, right before his parents get home,” he finally agreed, walking away from Minhyuk to head to his homeroom. “And tell Jooheon.”   
  


  
***

During the lecture part in chemistry class, Minhyuk couldn’t help but steal glances at Hyungwon behind him, the tall omega focused intently at the white board, taking notes in his notebook about whatever the hell the teacher was talking about. Bonds or some shit, Minhyuk didn’t know, he didn’t like chemistry anyways. 

The teacher afterwards passed out another packet for their next lab experiment, ranting off about the usual rules about lab safety and how to format their lab report, which they could do with a partner or by themselves. When she let go to the back of the room to work on the new procedure, Minhyuk made his way towards Hyungwon, ignoring his friends and classmates already chatting with each other. 

Hyungwon had closed his notebook, packet sticking out, while stuffing in his pencil in his pencil pouch when Minhyuk walked up to him. “Do you want to be partners?” Minhyuk asked, startling the omega. 

“You scared me,” Hyungwon said, grabbing his pouch and his notebook before getting out of his seat. It was a different notebook than last time, Minhyuk noticed; this one looked cleaner, clearly titled Chemistry in the hangul letters, while the one last time was more tattered and worn. “Why do you want to be partners?”

Minhyuk shrugged. “You know, finishing early and all that jazz. You mention how you don’t usually have much time for homework anyways.”

Hyungwon raised an eye but didn’t say anything. “Well, I guess we can work together,” he said finally, hugging his materials close to his chest as he led Minhyuk to area with the lab benches, picking the table farthest from everyone else. 

He set down his stuff, Minhyuk standing on the other side, as he flipped open the first page of the packet, reading the materials list quietly. 

“How was your night?” Minhyuk asked abruptly, not paying attention to his own work. “Everything go well?”

“Uh.. I mean, I did work as I was supposed to,” Hyungwon answered. “And homework. That was about it.”

Minhyuk nodded rapidly. “Cool, cool.”

Hyungwon took out his pencil and wrote his hypothesis for question one. “Did you do anything in particular?” he asked Minhyuk. “Maybe not in the night, since you slept your six hours, but…”

“I mean, I had dinner and saw Changkyun for a bit,” Minhyuk recalled. “Then I was knocked out. Pretty boring.”

“It’s not boring to see your friends,” Hyungwon reminded him. “Plus, Changkyun  _ is  _ suspended, I can’t imagine having to stay home all day.”

Minhyuk stared at Hyungwon as he wrote in his packet, his hands softly holding his wooden pencil. Hyungwon had nice handwriting, Minhyuk noticed. “True, but I’m not a priority to them, they have better stuff to do.”

“Maybe, but you should have your own priorities,” Hyungwon continued setting down his pencil and opening the bottle of glycerol at the table, measuring it carefully in the graduate cylinder. “The sooner you learn that, the better.”

“You speak from experience,” Minhyuk muttered. 

“I’ve had my fair share of bad ones, trust me,” Hyungwon said. “Do the next step with the alcohol, and don’t you dare drink it.”   
  


***   
  
“Are you sure it’s a good idea to see Shownu right now?” Jooheon told Wonho after school when they were standing in front of Shownu’s doorstep. “What if he fights with us, too?”

“He won’t fight with you guys,” Wonho said, taking out a key to unlock the door. “He should be in here-”

“Wait, why do you have a key?” Minhyuk asked him. 

Wonho darted his eyes back and forth between Minhyuk and the door. “Because I’m his best friend?” He said, stating it more like a question. “He has my house key as well, I’ve woken up to see him in my kitchen at 2 am, eating my apples.”

“That’s Shownu, all right,” Jooheon muttered under his breath.

Wonho opened the door, pocketing the key. “Don’t ambush Hyunwoo with questions, just act normally as if nothing had happened,” he instructed the two. “He gets tense if a past mistake or incident is brought up.”

“Sounds like Shownu,” Minhyuk said, repeating Jooheon’s words from earlier. 

“And don’t attack him either, this is a friendly visit, not an interrogation,” Wonho added. “His parents should be here in half an hour, so we got until then to talk to him and leave.”

“Remember, Minhyuk, if he punches me in the face, you owe me lunch tomorrow,” Jooheon reminded him. 

Minhyuk rolled his eyes, following Wonho enter inside. “Shut the fuck up, Jooheon.”

The three entered the house slowly, quickly shutting the door behind them. There was no one in sight in the living room nor the dining room, but the television was on; someone had been here earlier.

They heard noises coming from upstairs. “What could Shownu possibly be doing?” Jooheon asked Wonho.

“He gets loud when he plays video games,” Wonho explained, setting down the fast food he had bought for Shownu on the kitchen table. “Let’s go upstairs, he should be in a good mood if he’s playing video games."

They all headed upstairs, the shouting getting louder and louder. Sometimes it sounded high-pitched, Minhyuk realized. Shownu must be pretty crazy while playing video games, apparently. 

Wonho led them into the hallway on the second floor, pointing at a door. “That’s his room, he always closes it when he’s playing games, his mom yells at him for all his screaming.”

“That’s fair,” Jooheon said, stepping at the side. He had no idea how Shownu was going to react when he saw them and he did  _ not  _ want something thrown at him. 

Minhyuk had the same idea as Jooheon, standing next to him as he watch Wonho opened the bedroom door. 

Usually, they would be thankful that it was unlocked, but as soon as the door was opened, both Minhyuk and Jooheon were hit with the realization that it wasn’t anger or frustration sounds, but  _ moans.  _

They saw Wonho freeze at the door, staring at the sight in front of him. Minhyuk was able to see two people in a missionary position, but Wonho was the one who was given the full sight of Shownu fucking an omega on his bed, the two in a heated session. 

  
Wonho ran out of the hallway, dashing through the stairs, and that’s when Minhyuk realized that, yes, Wonho was indeed love with Shownu, and it was a love that was never going to happen.    


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I PROMISE ALL THE COUPLES IN THE TAGS WILL BE COUPLES AT THE END OF THE STORY I WILL STAND ON MY HAPPY ENDING TAGS


	9. Death is a Viable Option

The omega had run out after getting hastily dressed, so now it was just Shownu, Minhyuk and Jooheon at Shownu’s kitchen table, the latter opening the bags that Wonho had brought. 

“Yo, he got me my sesame chicken,” he exclaimed excitedly, taking out a takeout box and a pair of chopsticks. “And the rice, too, man, he remembered everything.”

Minhyuk and Jooheon watched in silence, watching Shownu take a bite of the food. They were trying to hold themselves back and not yell at him, remembering Wonho’s words. Even though Wonho wasn’t here anyways. Who knows where he had run off to. 

“Aren’t you going to look for Wonho?” Minhyuk asked calmly, gaze never leaving Shownu. “He brought you that food, too.”

Shownu looked up, confused, mouth full of rice. “Wonho? He was here?” 

“Yeah, he was the one who opened the door and ran off,” Jooheon added. 

Shownu shrugged, swallowing. “He gets squeamish when it comes to stuff like sex, knowing him, he’s just heading home to get the image out of his head.”

Minhyuk wanted so badly to yell at Shownu wondering how dense he could be, but considering how Minhyuk himself didn’t even believe Wonho had a crush on him till this week, he knew he couldn’t say anything. “Well, you should text him later and thank him for the food.”

“Eh, I’ll see him when I go back to school in two days,” Shownu said, picking up a piece of chicken. “It can wait.”

“Dude, it’s not that hard to text, he’s been worried about you this past week,” Jooheon said, getting impatient. “You haven’t texted any of us.”

“I haven’t been texting anyone,” Shownu said, defending himself. “It’s not personal, don’t worry.”

“Then how did you get that omega in your bed, did she just fucking appear or something?” Jooheon said loudly.

Shownu didn’t bother looking at him, eating his chicken. “I’ve been texting her for awhile, I didn’t want to cut her off-”

Minhyuk pushed himself from the table, the chair scraping against the floor. “Changkyun was right,” Minhyuk said, his voice low. “You’re an aggressive alpha who doesn’t care about anyone’s feelings, not even your fucking best friend. But you probably don’t see him as that, don’t you?”

He walked away from the table and grabbed his bag off the floor, hearing Shownu get up behind him but ignoring him. 

“What the fuck is this all about?” Shownu asked him, not getting a response as Minhyuk. “Minhyuk, don’t fucking ignore me-”

Minhyuk walked out the door, leaving Shownu and Jooheon behind.    
  


  
***

_ Date: November 10, 2020 _

_ Time: 6:39 PM _

_ So right now mom is making dinner while dad stayed at work doing overtime or something, I don’t know. He always does that. Aunt Hyolyn is here, chatting with mom, while Youngmin is doing some random shit.  _

_ Anyways, I’m pretty sure I fucked up everything.  _

_ To be fair, Wonho started when he ran off after catching Shownu fucking some omega.  _

_ This is all CLEARLY my fault. First, I provoke the fight during lunch. Then, I  _ _ tell  _ _ forced Wonho (and Jooheon, for that matter) to come visit Shownu even though he’s been ignoring us. Then I blow up on Shownu as well.  _

_ He had it coming, though. I’m just so fucking mad right now. Shownu has like some kind of fucking superiority complex or some shit. Aren’t they supposed to be best friends? Best friends my ass. Wonho ran away and Shownu didn’t give a fuck?? “Oh let me not text back my friends who are worried SICK for me but yeah i got time to shove my dick into someone” he can go FUCK OFF!!! _

_ Poor Wonho, honestly. Someone who's your best friend treating you like this??? _

_ Ah fuck, I have to tell him, don’t I. But then those two will fight and Shownu might beat my ass and… yeah… _ _ Fuck it, I’ll tell him, I don’t give a fuck.  _

_ Mom’s calling me for dinner, I’ll be back. _

***

At around 10 PM when he knew Hyungwon would be awake by now, Minhyuk went against his better judgement and called him. 

The call went through four rings and right when he thought it was going to go to voicemail, Hyungwon picked up. “Hello?”

“Hyungwon, it’s me,” Minhyuk said. “I have a question-”

“Let me guess, you didn’t know Changkyun had a crush on Kihyun either?” Hyungwon said sarcastically. 

Minhyuk frowned, even though he knew Hyungwon couldn’t see him. “If I didn’t know, that would be alarming, considering he’s been ranting to me about it only for the past year or so.”

“Glad you have at least  _ some  _ common sense,” Minhyuk heard Hyungwon mutter under his breath. “But yeah, what was your question?”

Minhyuk hesitated for a bit, chewing on his bottom lip before finally answering, “I fucked up.”

“Oh?” HE was so  _ sure  _ that Hyungwon was raising an eye at him. “What happened?”

“Can I see you?” Minhyuk asked. “I know your heading to work soon, but I think it’s just too much to say in person.”

He heard Hyungwon sigh, thinking he was going to decline but then Hyungwon said, “meet me in front of the dark alley then.”

“You’re going to murder me, aren’t you.”

“Yeah, I will, so bring your will,” Hyungwon said sarcastically. “What to get stabbed or a blow to the head?”

“I would prefer a gunshot, thanks.”   
  


***

_ Minhyuk’s Will _

  * _My video games and shit goes to Changkyun_


  * I guess Jooheon can have my weird ass decorative pillows that he complimented once idk


  * My clothes also go to Changkyun, he’s the only who fits in them


  * Wonho can have my books and cds and shit


  * Mom can have my jewelry 


  * Youngmin gets whatever's in my bank account and buy ice cream or some shit


  * Hyungwon gets my journal



***

20 minutes later, Minhyuk arrived at the dark alley, torn piece of paper in his pocket, where he saw Hyungwon waiting, on his phone. 

“Hey,” Minhyuk called out, startling Hyungwon. “I brought my will.” He pulled out the paper from his pocket and waved it. 

Hyungwon rolled his eyes, but Minhyuk could swear he saw him smile. “You are insane, you know that?”

Minhyuk stepped closer to Hyungwon and pressed the paper into the latter’s palm. “I bet you love me being insane.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, buddy.” Hyungwon opened up the folded paper, using the light on his phone to read it, considering how dark it was outside. “You actually made it into a bullet point list.

“You still owe me that essay, by the way,” Minhyuk reminded him. “Although I’m not sure I want it anymore. Shownu’s a dick.”

Hyungwon frowned. “What did he do  _ this  _ time?”

“He’s just an asshole,” Minhyuk simply said. 

“I’m assuming this is the part where you fucked up,” Hyungwon concluded. 

Minhyuk nodded. “Yeah, that.”

Hyungwon stared at him for a few seconds before going back to the will. “I’m assuming that’s why he’s not in the will, Youngmin is your brother, right?”

“Yeah, he’s twins with Kwangmin, but Kwangmin doesn’t live with us,” Minhyuk said. He shrugged. “It’s complicated.    
  


Hyungwon raised an eye but didn’t say anything, reading the last line of the will. “... You wrote my name.”

“Yeah, it’s not the most grand of things, but it has a lot of personal stuff, so…” Minhyuk stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked away, staring at the busy street despite being dark out. “Yeah, I figured you could have it.”

Hyungwon stared at the paper before ultimately folding it again and stuffing it in his pocket. “I’ll show it to the lawyer when you die by gunshot.”

“Thanks, Hyungwon, I appreciate it.” Minhyuk turned around to look at him again. He gestured at the door. “Employees first.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Hyungwon said, grabbing his phone. “Don’t you dare get drunk.”

“Yeah, it’s a school night, I can’t stay past midnight,” Minhyuk explained. “But… can I have  _ one  _ drink?”

“No.”

“Please?”

Hyungwon walked towards the door, knocking on it as he flipped Minhyuk off. “The last thing I need is you getting me fired.”

“What if I treat you to dinner Friday?” Minhyuk blurted out of his mouth. “To the diner. I’ll even try your nasty ass right.”

“You have a weird way of persuading people,” Hyungwon muttered. “Take you drink  _ after  _ you leave, then.” 

“Thanks, Hyungwon, you know I love you-”

“No I don’t.”

***

The next day at school, Minhyuk was really thankful that half the week was over, because there was nothing more that he wanted to do then wait till the weekend and get as drunk as he could. 

Changkyun and Shownu were back in the school, their suspension over, and the way they would give dirty looks in the hallway was painful to see. At one point, Minhyuk had to hold back Changkyun while Wonho held back Shownu, and it was no easy task. 

He was regretting not telling Wonho the incident that occurred at Shownu’s house, but Shownu must have given him his own version, because now Wonho wasn’t talking to him either. That, or Shownu threatened him. Knowing the alpha, that seemed like a very believable thing. 

It was very refreshing to rant everything about it to Hyungwon during chemistry class. 

“I’m pretty sure he made up some lie to Wonho,” Minhyuk was saying while measuring out a specific amount of sodium bicarbonate. “Maybe that’s why Wonho defends him for anything, he never knows the true story-”

“Ey, ey, you put too much.” Hyungwon took the plastic dish from Minhyuk and was scooping some of the sodium bicarbonate out. “But yeah, continue.”

“He has him wrapped around his little finger,” Minhyuk continued. “I’m pretty sure that’s why Wonho likes him, he thinks Shownu is this good person when he isn’t.”

“Then why don’t you talk to Wonho about it?” Hyungwon suggested. “And by talk, that doesn’t mean attack him the entire time, you have to remember that since they are friends, he will naturally be a little defensive-”

“No, if I make him mad, he will beat my ass,” Minhyuk argued. He sighed, mixing the powder in the box as Hyungwon continued measuring out the other ingredients. “Maybe I should get Jooheon to help, he was there during the whole incident- HOLY SHIT!!” He slammed his hands on the lab desk, ignoring the stinging pain in his palms. “I haven’t seen Jooheon here at school today.”

Minhyuk took out his phone and immediately texted Jooheon, asking him about his whereabouts quickly before turning it off again. “Anyways, what’s the next procedure we have to do?”

“I’m done,” Hyungwon said, adding the baking soda into the mixture. “We just have to document the reaction and all that shit, you know, the two liner sentences describing the color and whatever.”

“I am deeply offended,” Minhyuk joked before writing  _ red, small pockets of hair, smells like burning  _ in his observations. “There, I’m done.”

Hyungwon widened his eyes at him. “You finished your observations  _ that  _ fast?”

Minhyuk closed his packet, pouting. “How I observe things is none of your business.”

“The instructions say that it has to be at least a paragraph long, though,” Hyungwon pointed out. 

Oh, that would make a lot of sense. 

Minhyuk opened the packet again and looked at the question, which did indeed indicate that a paragraph was needed. “God damn it, I hate this class.”

“It’s just a paragraph, Minhyuk,” Hyungwon said, rolling his eyes. “There are worse things to do in Chemistry class.”

“I’d rather die.” Minhyuk quickly erased what he had written and tried to expand it into a bigger sentence, but to no avail. “What did you write?”

Hyungwon stopped writing to read what he wrote. “ _ The product appeared to participate in an exothermic reaction-” _

“What the fuck does that mean?” Minhyuk asked. 

“Have… have you- what?” Hyungwon frowned at him. “Have you not been paying attention in class?”

“To be honest, no,” Minhyuk admitted. “I spend most of class time writing or looking at you.”

As soon as he said the words he immediately regretted it. 

Hyungwon’s face turned pink, and he looked away from Minhyuk, trying to speak but stuttering over his words. “Okay, I guess-”

“I swear to god, I didn’t mean it like that, it was- you know I meant- ah, fuck.” Minhyuk startled to ramble and moved his hands everyone, trying to come up with the right words, only to accidentally knock down the graduated cylinder onto the ground, the glass shattering everywhere. 

Everyone in the class looked at them to see what the commotion was, and Minhyuk did not like it. He hated attention, he hated crowds, oh, how he wish he had bottles of soju to just drink right there and get drunk and to forget about everything-

The teacher came over to clean up the broken glassware, and Minhyuk did not dare to look at Hyungwon, wondering the possibility of god granting him mercy and killing him right there, and there was nothing more that he didn’t want than to die at that moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so IM has an instagram now.... inch resting


	10. Fucking Up Can Get You Places

The rest of the class time was Hyungwon and Minhyuk doing their own work separately in silence, and as soon as the bell rang, Minhyuk sprinted out of there as fast as he could. 

His heart was pumping very fast, and no, it was not because he was running.

To put it simple: Minhyuk did not like attention. At  _ all _ . He hated large groups of people, he hated speaking loudly, and most of all, he absolutely could  _ not  _ stay over at someone’s house. Breaking one of these rules will cause a high chance of Minhyuk puking his guts out from nausea, even more than when he’s drunk or hungover. 

So no, he did not like it when he basically admitted to staring at Hyungwon during Chemistry class while breaking a beaker at the same time. God, he felt so mortified when the class realized what he had done, but Hyungwon-

Hyungwon. His cheeks were really pink, and if Minhyuk was honest, he liked it. He liked seeing Hyungwon’s face get pink. He liked how Hyungwon was chewing the bottom of his lip when Minhyuk practically made a confession. He liked see Hyungwon be a smart ass, he liked- oh god, how much he liked-

This, my friends, is what you consider a major fuck up. 

Minhyuk spent the rest of the day in a daze, walking aimlessly from class to class. You couldn’t pay him a million dollars for him to recite all the material he learned that day. Hell, someone could have whoop his ass and he wouldn’t have even noticed. 

By the end, he couldn’t handle it anymore, so he ditched his last class and ran home, not stopping until he reached his house, ignoring his mother’s questions as he locked himself in his room. 

***

_ Date: November 11, 2020 _

_ Time: 5:34 PM _

_ I want to die so bad.  _

_ I can’t BELIEVE I just did that. Sure, Jooheon could say I’m overreacting or some shit, but like… I still can’t believe it.  _

_ Oh god, I really did just say that right? I blurted it out to Hyungwon? _ _ I don’t even like him in that way! I ~~have never seen Hyungwon in a romantic form of way or something. People would think that because we hang out and because I’m an alpha and he’s an omega but that doesn’t mean anything! I’m just curious as to what he does, that’s normal, right? It’s not like I think about his dimple everyday, or how I wish I had the courage to text him or ask if he wanted to meet up more often. Hyungwon is just a cool, chill person who always does what he wants and he’s just so amazing, that’s perfectly normal. It’s not a crush, it’s not like what Changkyun feels for Kihyun or what Wonho feels for Shownu, this is pure friendship, and I’m not ranting.~~ _

_ Oh god I think I might have a crush on Hyungwon. _

_ *** _

_ Hyungwon _

_ Today, 10:23 PM _

_ Hey, uh, I think you might be awake _

_ Also I didn’t mean what I said in chem class earlier _

_ I’m not a stalker I swear _

_ It’s just class gets boring and you know _

_ Please don’t kill me I know I joke about death a lot but _

_ Today, 10:25 PM _

_ Minhyuk is was just a comment, you looked like I died or something _

_ It’s fine, I know you’re getting anxious about it _

_ I know you didn’t mean it like stalkerish or romantically _

_ I mean I’m not saying your bad to look at _

_ Ah fuck I didn’t mean that _

_ I mean I did uh _

_ I mean you’re not ugly! I just wasn’t looking at you for that intention _

_ Uhhh... _

_ I promise I’m not stalking you _

_ I just get bored in class _

_ And you always look mysterious back there _

_ Mysterious? _

_ Are you having a stroke? _

_ My hand is cramping from writing too much _

_ Can I go see you? Like now? Please? _

_ I’m not calling you awful or anything, please _

_ Ah shit _

_ I feel obligated to call 119 _

_ Minhyuk _

_ I mean yeah you can come if you do it now, you might make it _

_ Since I work soon _

***

Minhyuk had been locked up in his room for a few hours when he sprinted down the stairs and headed out the door, ignoring the rumbling in his chest. 

He ran, for who knows how long. All he had in his mind was Hyungwon as he ran on the streets, ignoring how dark and cold it was, until he stopped at the end of the alley, gasping for air when he saw Hyungwon. 

Hyungwon was standing at the end of the alley in front of the underground club door, hands in his pockets shivering. He must have been waiting for Minhyuk to arrive. 

“Hey,” Minhyuk called out, letting Hyungwon realize he was there. “Aren’t you cold?”

Hyungwon rolled his eyes, wrapping his arms around him. “You’re one to talk, you don’t even have a jacket.”

“No, but I am sweaty,” Minhyuk joked. “I ran here.”

“That’s… you're insane, Minhyuk,” Hyungwon said. Minhyuk swore that Hyungwon gave a small smile. “Were you not complaining about not wanting to die earlier?”

“I have been told I contradict myself a lot,” Minhyuk reminded him. “Mainly Jooheon. But he’s weird, so he doesn’t count.”

Hyungwon nodded. “Interesting, I wouldn’t have known Jooheon was the weird one.”

“Yeah, I mean- well, we all are, but the group’s been kind of… separated since the whole incident,” Minhyuk said quietly. “I’m pretty sure it’s because I fucked up.”

“You didn’t- Minhyuk stop blaming yourself,” Hyungwon scolded him, stepping closer. Minhyuk could see how the tip of his nose was red from the cold. “From what you have told me, Shownu sounds like a jerk.”

“He kind of is, yeah,” Minhyuk mumbled. “Hyungwon, you’re cold.”

“I’m fine, I have to head inside anyways,” Hyungwon said, pointing at the door. “I’ll be toasty in there, don’t worry.”

Minhyuk nodded. “Yeah, okay, uh- can I join you tonight?”

Hyungwon smiled, more noticeably this time. “You don’t need my permission, dumb ass and  _ lay off  _ the alcohol!”   
  
  
***

Minhyuk followed Hyungwon’s order of not touching the alcohol, but the next day after school, he totally didn’t. 

Changkyun kept asking him questions all day, asking where the hell did he run off to yesterday, pointing out how weird Minhyuk was acting. He asked Minhyuk if he wanted to come over, and Minhyuk reluctantly agreed, asking himself whether he could hide things from Changkyun or not. 

Changkyun was his best friend, Minhyuk wasn’t sure he could hide any more secrets from him. So, he decided to man up and come visit his friend after school. 

Thankfully, Changkyun had just ordered two new boxes of soju, so by the time Minhyuk finished his third bottle, he found himself spilling the biggest news to Changkyun.

“I think I like Hyungwon,” Minhyuk said, causing Changkyun to spill some soju everywhere. “In a  _ like  _ him like him way.”

“Okay, and  _ how  _ long have you known this?” Changkyun asked him. 

Minhyuk sighed. “Yesterday.”

Changkyun’s eyes went wide before he stared at the soju bottle in his hand. “So  _ that’s  _ why you were being weird yesterday,” he muttered to himself, taking a swig of the bottle and swallowing before continuing. “What caused you to suddenly  _ have  _ this realization?”

Minhyuk opened a fourth bottle of soju. “I told Hyungwon that I stared at him in class.”

“That’s- oh, yeah, there’s no coming back from that one,” Changkyun said. “Please tell me you tried to play it cool and not text him all weird or some shit.”

One look at Minhyuk’s guilty face told him everything. 

“Oh god, you texted him all weird and shit,” Changkyun exclaimed. “Minhyuk! Have I taught you nothing?”

“I also broke a beaker during science class and you know I don’t like attention,” Minhyuk tried to defend himself. “In my defense I am very stupid.”

Changkyun nodded. “Yeah, that’s a mood- anyways! Enough of that!” Changkyun took another sip of his soju. “So what’s the game plan of you asking him out?”

MInhyuk’s eyes widened. “Asking him  _ out _ ? Bitch are you insane?!”

“How  _ else  _ are you going to date him?!” Changkyun yelled at him. “Come on, Minhyuk, it’s not that hard.”

Minhyuk’s face turned red as he looked away. “It is for me,” he mumbled. “Besides, why don’t you take your own advice, I don’t see you dating Kihyun!”

“I- don’t bring Kihyun into this!” Changkyun shouted, also turning red. “That’s different and you know it.”

Minhyuk pouted, crossing his arms. “I’m not going to ask out Hyungwon if you, the bravest one in our broken up group, can’t even ask out Kihyun.”

“I- you know what? I’ll do it.” Changkyun took out his phone from his pocket, accidentally knocking his soju bottle on the ground, spilling it everywhere. “I’m going to fucking ask out Kihyun and then you’ll do it with Hyungwon.”

“Uh, what are you doing?” Minhyuk asked, puzzled. Changkyun was such a coward when it came to Kihyun. “I didn’t agree to anything-”

Changkyun put the phone on his ear, only to clam up when he heard someone who Minhyuk assumed was Kihyun speak. “Uh- uh, hey, Kihyun! Hey, it’s uh, me, Changkyun, uh-”

Taking his fifth bottle, Minhyung took another swig, downing half the bottle in one go as he watched Changkyun fumbled around with his words. He needed to get drunk  _ now _ .

“Yeah, uh, I just wanted to ask if you wanted to meet after school tomorrow?” Changkyun said nervously, laughing. “Yeah, we can meet at that place if you want- yeah, okay, yeah, it’s nothing serious, I just wanted to ask you something, uh, I’ll meet you there!”

He pressed the end button on the phone and threw it to the other side of the room, collapsing on the ground. 

“Uh, Changkyun, are you okay?” Minhyuk asked, hoping his friend hadn't died yet. “Changkyun!”

“I’m not ready!!” Changkyun shrieked, sobbing on the ground. “I can’t ask him out  _ now _ ! I’m so scared, what if he likes someone else or has a boyfriend, what if he thinks I’m stupid, what if-”

“Well, technically you haven’t asked him out, plus, I’m pretty sure my crush with Hyungwon will go away,” Minhyuk said. “It’s probably just because he’s… handsome, yeah, he’s really handsome.”

Yes, definitely. Minhyuk’s crush will hopefully go away and he wouldn’t have to deal with this anymore.   
  
  
***

“We should do something this weekend,” Wonho was telling Shownu. They went to a diner near the school, your usual fried chicken place, since Wonho offered to pay for Shownu’s meal. “Have some fun, don’t you think?”

Shownu took a big bite of his chicken, chewing on it before swallowing. “Sorry, I have stuff to do this weekend,” he lied, dipping another piece in his honey mustard. “Maybe next weekend?”

Wonho nodded, giving him a fake smile. “Yeah, okay, that’s fine, I’ll just catch up on homework or something,” he mumbled at the end, taking a sip of his milkshake. “Plus, it’s getting cold.”

“Don’t worry about it, I mean, it’s not that cold for alphas anyways,” Shownu said. “Omegas have more sensitive skin than us.”

“It’s still November, though,” Wonho pointed out. “Just make sure you wear something warm.”

“Okay, mom,” Shownu said, laughing as he picked up another piece of his chicken. “I swear, if it weren’t for your body, you would be so much like an omega.”

Wonho frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I mean, you just act like they do,” Shownu explained, taking another bite of his chicken before continuing. “You have to be more strong, more manly and serious if you want an omega to notice you-”

“But I don’t  _ want  _ an omega to notice me,” Wonho argued. “I’m… not into dating, Shownu, I already told you that.”

“I know, but you will someday anyways,” Shownu explained. “You need to be more alpha.”

Shownu continued eating, not noticing Wonho who was just staring at his plate for a minute before getting out of his chair. “I have to go,” he mumbled, grabbing his backpack. “I’ll see you at school tomorrow-”

“Where are  _ you  _ going?” Shownu yelled, pulling Wonho’s arm back. “Don’t leave me!”

“Sorry, Shownu, but I’m not  _ alpha  _ enough,” Wonho said, almost growling, as he tugged his arm from Shownu, ignoring him calling after him as he left the diner.


	11. Jooheon is the Wise™ One

On Friday the thirteenth (not October, but still spooky in Minhyuk’s opinion), he was walking in the hallway in the morning before school started when he saw Hyungwon at his locker, putting some books away. 

Instantly, he could feel his heart speeding up, so he blamed it on the energy drink he drank this morning since he fell asleep around 3 am. Yeah, that probably wasn’t healthy for an alpha like him, but what could you do? Blame it on unfair education standards the nation of Korea puts on its students. 

He stopped in the middle of the hallway and unzipped his backpack, digging around for some water to drink, his brain not processing that there were water fountains in the hallway. He just needed something to drink, his heart was pumping too fast and he was going to die right this instant-

“Minhyuk?” 

Minhyuk looked up, dropping the water bottle he had just pulled out of his backpack. “Hyungwon, h-hey.”

Hyungwon was standing right in front of him, hands on his backpack straps. “You look like you want to die.”

_ Fuck yeah I do. _ “Nope! Everything’s well as your normal high schooler, am I right?” Minhyuk said, laughing nervously. “Just- I’m just thirsty, that’s all.”

“Uh…” Hyungwon looked down at the water bottle Minhyuk had dropped, bending down to pick it up for him. “For some reason you make me concerned. Are you  _ sure  _ you’re not having a seizure-”

“Sorry, Hyungwon, the bell just rang, I’m going to be late to class!” Minhyuk yelled, running past him to get to his homeroom. “See you later!!”

Hyungwon opened his mouth to yell back at him, closing it tight shut when he realized it was pretty much useless, as Minhyuk had already sprunt away. 

“You… you idiot,” he told himself, staring at the water bottle in his hand. “Minhyuk, you- you worry me sometimes.”

***

During lunch, Minhyuk ate with Changkyun and Jooheon as normal, but when Wonho came over with his own tray and sat down with them, he was a little surprised. Wasn’t he always stuck with Shownu anyways?

Wonho must have sensed the three of them giving him weird looks but only shrugged in response, picking up his burger. “I fought with him, what else.”

Changkyun sighed. “What happened this time?”

“It’s just… he said I was like an omega,” Wonho admitted, looking down at his food. “And I know there’s nothing wrong with being an omega but he says it so insulting and then I get the be more manly argument and- I just wanted to leave yesterday.”

Minhyuk scoffed, picking his rice. “That’s Shownu for you-”

“Minhyuk, shut the fuck up for once,” Jooheon said. “Let’s not start pointing fingers for once.”

Changkyun handed one of his fries to Wonho. “I would go talk to him but he still hates my guts, you’re our best best, Wonho.”

Wonho shook his head. “I’m pretty sure he wants nothing to do with me.”

“You’re still best friends- well, he considers you guys to be best friends,” Jooheon corrected himself. “Just give Shownu time to cool off-”

“Shownu holds grudges, idiot,” Changkyun reminded him. “Cooling off will do nothing.”

Minhyuk ignored the conversation, only focusing on his rice. However, when the conversation drifted off to who would win in a fight, Minhyuk couldn’t help but think about the time Hyungwon told him how he hated Korean rice at the diner they visited-

Ah, shit, he could feel his heart speeding up again. 

He needed to think of something else, quick. “Shownu would win in a fight,” Minhyuk said quickly. “You may be stronger but you would hold yourself back, not wanting to hurt him.”

“Yeah, Shownu goes all out when it’s a fight, alpha or omega,” Jooheon agreed. “Just do you, Wonho, just talk to him, ignore these idiots-”

“HEY!” Changkyun and Minhyuk said in unison. 

“-and if Shownu does something to you, we’ll gang up on him and punch him,” Jooheon concluded, shrugging. “I know a lot of people like to paint him as an idiot just for being a strong alpha but they shouldn’t stereotype.”

Wonho nodded, picking up his phone. “Okay, I’ll ask Shownu if he wants to meet up later-”

Instantly, Changkyun’s face turned pale, realizing what he had to do after school later. “Oh no.”

“ _ Now  _ what happened to you?” Jooheon asked, annoyed. If Shownu caused the most problems between them, Changkyun was no doubt in second place for being problematic. “Can’t you go one day while being sane?”

Minhyuk’s eyes widened when he realized his part of the deal yesterday. “Hehe, Changkyun, you don’t have to go with it,” he persuaded him. “You know, go at your own pace, all that good stuff-”

“Nanana, I’m not listening to  _ you _ ,” Changkyun said, jabbing a finger at him. “I’m going to ask out Kihyun today after school today and- oh god, I’m going to ask out…  _ fuck! _ ”

Jooheon raised an eye. “You still have a crush on that man?”

“I never stopped!!” Changkyun yelled at him, balling his fists. “Man, I’m never going to end up with him-”

“Just talk to him, too, gosh, why is it so hard for ALL of you guys to just talk to people?” Jooheon said. “MInhyuk! Do you have any problems too while I become everyone’s therapist today?”

_ I think I have a crush on Hyungwon _ . “Nope, everything is good,” Minhyuk said, nodding. “Perfect. Fine. No crushes or liking people. Yeah.”

Changkyun glared at him, wanting to point out the Hyungwon dilemma while noting that Minhyuk probably does not want it to be public. Minhyuk glared back at him as well, not caring. 

“I- I have no words, you guys are adults,” Jooheon said, stabbing his pieces of meat. “Please let me eat in peace now, we have five minutes before the bell rings.”   
  


  
***   
  


When school ended, Changkyun was really nervous about asking Kihyun out, so he asked (more like forced depending on whose point of view you’re asking) Minhyuk to stand ten feet away to protect him from any chaos that might occur. 

Minhyuk stood around, bored. All he was doing was watching Changkyun practically spaz as he waited for Kihyun to show up, though he knew how important it was for his friend to know he was supporting him, so he was stuck, waiting. 

Though it  _ was  _ amusing to see how Changkyun would play this out, he had to admit. Changkyun at a glance might be what you consider a good alpha, with his muscles and serious expression, but he’s actually a big mess when it comes to feelings. 

Minhyuk leaned against a tree under the shade, watching Changkyun fret around, when he felt someone poke his shoulder. Startled, he turned around and saw-

“You drop your water bottle earlier,” Hyungwon said, handing Minhyuk the water bottle he dropped earlier in the morning. “When you were talking about being thirsty, no less.”

Minhyuk felt really hot despite being under the shade. “Oh, uh, thank you, uh-” he grabbed the water and took off the cap, taking a few gulps of it, yet he still felt really hot.

“Wow, you really are thirsty,” Hyungwon said. “How are you hot in November- nevermind, what are you doing here anyways?”

Thankful for the change in conversation, Minhyuk pointed at the distance, where Kihyun had just appeared next to Changkyun. “He’s going to ask out Kihyun,” Minhyuk answered truthfully, taking another gulp of water.

Hyungwon nodded, crossing his arms. “Interesting. I never saw him as the type to admit it.”

“What do you- what do you mean, he’s not the type?” Minhyuk asked, confused. “He’s an alpha, he’s supposed to ask him out.”

“Pfft, no, that doesn’t mean anything,” Hyungwon said, shrugging. “Just because I’m an omega doesn’t mean I can’t ask anyone out?”

Minhyuk’s face turned red. “No, I meant- uh, I don’t know, I just- wait, you’re asking someone out?”

Hyungwon frowned. “God, no, I would literally be the worst boyfriend in existence.”

“No you wouldn’t,” Minhyuk argued. “You would be a really nice boyfriend.”

It became silent between them for a few seconds, Hyungwon turning his head away to look at Changkyun and Kihyun where- wait was that blush on his face-

“Well, I can tell you who I’m pretty sure has a boyfriend now,” Hyungwon said, pointing at Kihyun who just pecked Changkyun’s cheek. “Interesting, it looks like he’s about to faint-”

“Ah, fuck, CHANGKYUN!” Minhyuk yelled, sprinting to his friend who fell on his knees. “Damn, bro, are you okay???”

Changkyun was wide-eyed, instantly reaching out to palm his cheek. “Kihyun kissed me on the cheek,” he whispered. “He kissed me on the cheek-”

“Your friend is going to faint,” Hyungwon said, appearing next to Minhyuk. “You might have to take him home.”

Minhyuk nodded, lifting Changkyun up with his hands. “Changkyun, you need to calm down-”

“No I don’t because I got a date with Kihyun,” Changkyun said, laughing. “Haha, I got a date with the most amazing omega in school, I can die now-”

“What a mood,” Hyungwon said, helping Minhyuk lift up Changkyun. “I will pretend to be offended that I’m not the most amazing omega ever but let’s get your out of this stupid place first-”

“Wait, don’t you need to sleep?” Minhyuk asked. Hyungwon always sleepy after school and woke up in the evening to do his evening job. “You go, I’ll take care of him.”

Hyungwon shook his head. “I appreciate the offer, but I like to think I gained muscle when I dragged your drunk ass through the streets, now let’s get your friend- and he fainted, great.”   
  


  
***

_ Date: November 13, 2020 _

_ Time: 5:35 PM _

_ So, Changkyun has a date with Kihyun now _

_ After he woke up, he told me how he had asked Kihyun if he was free tomorrow and if he wanted to hang out. Kihyun said something like “oh why do you ask” and Changkyun clammed up like an idiot and said because I like you.  _

_ Good news, however! Apparently Kihyun likes him as well, so he agreed to what is now called a date, and then he kisses Changkyun’s cheek and it just goes overlord from there.  _

_ Changkyun keeps texting me non stop about tomorrow, about what he should wear, what he should talk about, is it too fast to give Kihyun a kiss, like I’m pretty sure he was still hooking up with people a week ago but that’s Changkyun to you.  _

_ I’m really glad he’s finally getting to go on a date with Kihyun, but am I ready for the makeouts in the middle of the hallway? No. Is it because I’m a virgin like jerk Shownu would say? Also no. That’s just weird.  _

_ In other news, Hyungwon is making things harder for me and I’m not sure I like it.  _

_ *** _

Minhyuk took a short nap after dinner and headed straight to where Hyungwon worked out, remembering to bring a thick coat this time. It was mid-November, after all, and the last thing he wanted was for his mother to get worried about him getting sick. 

He made his way down town into the city, relishing the fact that it was dark, despite having some people milling around (it was Friday, after all - people were going to be around). Even though Hyungwon’s workplace was really loud and illegal, it felt calming sitting next to the latter the entire time, and if it got too much, hey, he could always get drunk… though Hyungwon never allowed him to. 

When he arrived, it was before Hyungwon usually came, so he had time to stand around and wait for the omega to come, wasting time on his phone. Changkyun was stress texting him again, and there were a couple messages from Jooheon and Wonho, but what surprised him the most was a message from Shownu. 

_ Hey do you mind if we see each other tomorrow _

“Stalking again?” Minhyuk whipped his head up to see Hyungwon standing in front of him, arms in his pockets. He had on a thin jacket like always, shivering from the cold. “What are you doing here?”

Minhyuk quickly turned off his phone and shoved it in his back pocket. “Oh, hey, weird seeing you here,” he said, faking a laugh. “I’m just… chilling.”

Hyungwon raised an eye. “You know I work here.”

What an  _ idiot _ . “Oh, yeah, I knew that,” Minhyuk said, ashamed. “I just thought we could… hang out, you know?”

Hyungwon blinked a couple of times. “Uh… okay, but you know I have to work right now,” he said, knocking on the front door of the underground fighting club, not breaking eye contact with Minhyuk. “Don’t get drunk.”

“For the last time, I’m  _ not  _ an alcoholic!” Minhyuk shouted when the bouncer opened the door, allowing Hyungwon entry. 

“Trust me,” Hyungwon said, gesturing to Minhyuk to get it. “You don’t know how much that means to me.”   
  



	12. Saturday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yello, sorry i was gone

Hyungwon didn’t finish until 3 in the morning that night, and since Minhyuk has been awake for almost 24 hours, he was practically  _ exhausted _ , yet he stayed the entire time. 

Thank god it was Friday, because if Minhyuk had school the following day, he would have skipped and slept in instead. No, now he had the option to sleep in until one in the afternoon until his mother got worried. Nothing unusual. 

Hyungwon must have been thinking about this, too, since the next thing he said was “I don’t think it’s healthy for you to be up so late.”

Minhyuk shrugged. “Nothing’s healthy nowadays, might as well do what you love.”

Hyungwon made a confused face but didn’t ask what Minhyuk meant, knowing he was probably going to make a drinking comment. “You’re going to die, Minhyuk,” he said bluntly.

_ I don’t see a downside _ Minhyuk wanted to say. “I promise to get more sleep,” he concluded.

“That’s better, no wonder you always have bags under your eyes,” Hyungwon continued, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his flimsy jacket. It was November, how was he not cold? “Jeez, I have to catch up on homework when I get home.”

“Home? Hyungwon, it’s Friday night, we are free to do whatever,” Minhyuk said, gesturing to the empty streets, save the few intoxicated people who were milling around; they must have come out of clubs and parties and were just standing waiting for taxis. “It’s the weekend, homework isn’t due yet.”

“For  _ you _ , maybe,” Hyungwon said. “I’m busy this weekend, and we have our chemistry report.”

“Oh, that, pfft, I haven’t even started it,” Minhyuk said. “It’s due next Friday, we have a week.”

Hyungwon sighed. “Okay. What do you want to do at 3 AM on Saturday morning?”

“It’s not Saturday, it’s Friday- oh, you’re one of  _ those  _ people,” Minhyuk grumbled. “But anyways, we can eat or something, I don’t know."

“I- I’d rather make something at home,” Hyungwon turned down his offer, knowing he didn’t have money to spend. “Actually, I’m not even hungry, so…”

“Oh, uh- yeah, sure, that’s probably a smarter choice,” Minhyuk trailed off. “Oh, how about an ice cream? There’s an ice cream shop here open 24/7 that Jooheon always likes to go to.”

There were two reasons why Hyungwon didn’t like that offer. One, because he  _ didn’t have money _ , and two, because he was dying in the cold right now. 

His father had thrown away his tattered winter coats, claiming they had no room in the house, and Hyungwon didn’t find out until right when he needed him. He didn’t want to buy any coats right now, though, as a new bill from the hospital just arrived and he now needed to pay for that one, so he was going to have to suck it up a bit more. 

He opened his mouth to turn it down yet again, right when Minhyuk continued. “I can pay for you if you want, you should really try it, it’s really good.”

Hyungwon sighed. Minhyuk wasn’t really an outgoing person, so he didn’t have the heart to say no when he was inviting. “If you really want,” he said, defeated. “This is also unhealthy, you know.”

“Again, my health can go choke on itself,” Minhyuk said, walking down the alley towards the street. “Now let me think of where it is-”

“You  _ gotta be _ kidding me,” Hyungwon muttered to himself. “Minhyuk, you really are something else.”

“I’m going to take that as a compliment,” Minhyuk joked, pointing to the left of the street. “I think it’s that way.”

Hyungwon walked up next to Minhyuk, his teeth chattering. “I think we’re going to get lost.”

“Yeah, we probably are, but again, it’s Friday,” Minhyuk said. He stole a glance at Hyungwon, taking off his thick coat and placing it over the latter’s shoulders, not paying attention to the latter’s surprised look. “You need to wear something thicker, it’s November.”

Hyungwon really wanted to protest against it, but the instant warmth it gave him made him stay quiet, his clutching jacket closer to his body, refusing to look Minhyuk in the eye. “Thank you.”

Minhyuk smiled. “Don’t worry about it. Let’s go get ice cream.”

***

_ Date: November 14, 2020 _

_ Time: 5:23 AM  _

_ After Hyungwon’s job, it took us over thirty minutes to find the ice cream shop because as it turns out, Jooheon had given me the wrong address. Even when I got the right one, though, I still turned to the wrong street, so I guess it’s my fault either way.  _

_ We both got two double scoop cones, both your normal cookies and creme flavors. Unfortunately, there were a lot of people in the shop despite it being past three in the morning, so we walked outside a bit in the cold. There was a park nearby so we were there.  _

_ We ate the ice cream and talked, that was really it. But it just felt so different. I’m so tired writing this, I just want to sleep and never wake up but I want to write down everything that happened today because I don’t ever want to forget.  _

_ The conversation was mostly about the chemistry report, anything going on in school, talking about my friends. I asked if he had any, he said no (Honestly, sometimes I forget that he's only been here for like a month.) He doesn’t talk about his family either, but I didn’t want to pry. _

_ I asked him about college plans, he said probably a two-year program like a radiologist (whatever that means, I didn’t want to sound stupid). He asked the same for me, I said I didn’t know, which is true. I don’t want to think about college right now, though I know I should probably get serious about it soon.  _

_ I asked him if he’s ever dated someone. He said no. I asked him if he’s ever  _ liked  _ someone. And he hesitated.  _

_ What else… I asked him if he’s free tomorrow. He said at night- HOLY SHIT I’M GOING TO SLEEP _

  
  


***   
  


Minhyuk woke up right before four in the afternoon with a headache and feeling disoriented. 

Luckily, he discovered a post it note stuck on his door from his mother stating that she went out with his Aunt Hyolyn earlier to do some grocery shopping and do some errands, so she didn’t discover Minhyuk waking up at a bad hour and making poor life choices. 

He went downstairs and served himself a plate of cookies for breakfast (or, well, technically lunch or early dinner, but again, poor life choices) before heading back upstairs, scrolling through his phone to see if he was missing any messages. 

There were some about Changkyun, who was being dramatic over his “date” today; he had bombard Minhyuk’s phone with messages, including 40 pictures of what he should wear and what he should do, so Minhyuk decided to reply to him first to calm him down.

Minhyuk called him, and it didn’t even rang for two seconds when Changkyun picked up. “MINHYUK YOU GOT TO HELP ME, WE AGREED ON A TIME SO I HAVE LESS THAN AN HOUR TO GET READY AND I’M STILL IN MY TOWEL AND I DON’T KNOW-”

“Woah, dude, calm down, take a deep breath, Changkyun,” Minhyuk said during Changkyun’s rambling. “Take a deep breath!!”

Changkyun continued to vent from the other side of the phone, though, so Minhyuk let him talk for a minute until he started crying at the end. 

“I don’t know what to do!” Changkyun said finally, sobbing into the receiver. “He’s different than flings and hookups, you know that, I always tried to sleep with people to get over him and distract myself and it never worked, and now I’m scared that he won’t like me-”

Minhyuk had no idea he thought like that; he just thought Changkyun was a horny alpha. “Well, maybe Hyungwon is right, we both need to stop drinking,” he said. Just the mention of alcohol made his headache hurt more. “And okay, let’s get to the bottom of this. What time are you supposed to meet Kihyun?” 

He could hear Changkyun sniffle over the line. “At five.”

Minhyuk took his phone off his ear and looked at the time displayed, 4:06. “Boy, you gotta be kidding me- okay, you said you showered right?” he continued, putting the phone back on his ear. 

Changkyun didn’t say anything for five seconds until- “oh, sorry, I forgot you were on the phone, I nodded and you didn’t see me.”

It’s getting better if Changkyun is being dumb right now. Eh, better than Minhyuk if he was honest. “Okay, based on the analysis you have been making on Kihyun for years, what type of alphas did he like again?”

“HE’S LIKE OTHER ALPHAS?!” Changkyun shrieked. “OH NO, HE’S NEVER GOING TO BE INTERESTED IN ME-”

“Changkyun, stick to the plan, we’re going to make this date successful,” Minhyuk interrupted him. Usually Minhyuk would calmly listen to his every worry and console his friend but there was no time left. “Okay, since we don’t know, we’re going to do hot but casual. Where’s those black ripped jeans you’ve been holding out?” 

“Oh, they’re here on my bed, you think they’ll be okay?” Changkyun asked, worried. 

“Hell yeah they are, wear a long sleeve white buttoned shirt and tuck it in, roll the sleeves halfway-”

“WAIT, GIVE ME A FEW SECONDS!” Changkyun yelled, the phone making a noise so Minhyuk assumed he dropped it, as he heard some shuffling afterwards. 

He took a bite of a cookie and was able to hear Changkyun curse in the background. “Okay, I’m back,” Changkyun said. “What else did you say?”

“Long sleeve button up-”

“GOT IT!” And with that, Changkyun got off the phone again. 

Minhyuk scrolled through his other messages while Changkyun got changed when he saw the text message Shownu had sent him yesterday, asking if they could meet up. Without thinking, Minhyuk said sure, saying they could meet before dark if Shownu had time. 

“Okay, I got the shirt,” Changkyun said again. “What shoes do I wear?” 

“Black converse,” Minhyuk answered immediately, helping Changkyun for the rest of the hour getting ready. 

  
  


***

  
  


Shownu wanted to meet at seven, so Minhyuk left the house by then to go meet him in front of the school. 

He didn’t know what Shownu wanted to talk about, since it could be about a thousand possible things. He just hoped that they didn’t argue again because the last thing he needed was to provoke Shownu into a physical fight. What did Wonho even see in this alpha anyways?

Minhyuk stood outside the main double doors, looking at the time on his phone. He came around ten minutes early, so he sat on the bottom steps for a while, arms crossed over his knees as he looked at the grass. 

Even though he’s only been awake for three hours, Minhyuk could still feel his eyes getting heavy with each passing second and wanted nothing more than to go back home and to take a nap. 

“Minhyuk!” Minhyuk turned his head to see Shownu in front of him, waving his arm. “You made it, man.”

“Course I did,” Minhyuk said, standing up from the steps. “What is it that you wanted to talk about?”

Shownu walked up to him, stuffing his hands in his front pockets. “I mean, we haven’t spoken to each other in a while,” he admitted, shrugging. “I just wanted to see what’s up.”

He was getting suspicious but didn’t say anything. “Shownu, just tell me what’s going on.”

“Okay,  _ fine, _ ” Shownu said. “Just want to tell the group I’m sorry, okay? Especially Wonho, I’ve been treating him like a jerk lately I guess and I might have hurt his feelings.” 

Minhyuk remembered how the other day in lunch Wonho told them what Shownu said. “You know how sad it is, right?” he told Shownu. “How you’re always the asshole and Wonho has to end up apologizing just so that you two can be on better terms again? Just to repeat the process all over?”

“I know, I get it,” Shownu said. “I’m the asshole and I don’t deserve him as a friend and that’s why I’m a failure of an alpha, I’m sorry, okay- ah, fuck.” 

Shownu had lifted his hands up from his pockets and accidently dropped his phone behind him, so he turned around to pick it up. “Goddammit, I hate this stupid thing-”

When he bent down, his short t-shirt lifted up a little, where Minhyuk could see a couple of bruises forming on Shownu’s back. 

“Oh, man, those are nasty, did you get in another fight?” Minhyuk said, wincing at the thought of getting hit. “You need to stop fighting.”

Shownu pulled his shirt down. “I didn’t fight, it was an accident,” he said, quickly changing the subject. “Can you persuade Wonho to text me again? I think he blocked me.”

Minhyuk sighed, tired of this constant drama. “Okay, I will,” he said before yawning. “I promise.”   
  
  


“Tell him the can exploded,” Shownu said. When he saw Minhyuk’s confused face, he added, “he gets it, don’t worry.”

“Can exploding- what can exploded?” Minhyuk asked. 

Shownu shook his head. “Don’t worry about it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was thinking of making this a short series, would you guys be interested? The second book would mainly be in Hyungwon's point of view, but it takes place after this story. It will take a while until the sequel comes out (first we gotta finish this book after all) but I just get really sad that this will end (probs around 25 chapters) I can never let go of my characters :(


	13. Midlife- No, Ongoing Crisis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late updates, a lot of stuff has been going on in my life, i promise im trying to post more often. nothing is beind abandoned, however, keep that in mind!! theres just a lot from depression work and family to covid19 shit going on, i hope you guys are still safe!!!

For the past twenty minutes, Changkyun hasn't been able to stop staring at Kihyun’s free hand. 

To be fair, Kihyun does have a nice looking hand, since he  _ is  _ the most handsome person in the entire universe, after all. It would be hard to stop looking at him. 

Changkyun had met Kihyun at the entrance of the outdoors shopping centre, and he had wanted to mentally scream at how Kihyun looked. The omega had dressed in a plain simple white sweater, paired with white capris and white sneakers. He was practically  _ radiating  _ from beauty (and maybe the color white, too). 

But yes, Changkyun was staring at Kihyun’s hand, having the centuries-old debate of one of the most important questions to be answered during the history of first-dates. 

Does he reach out to grab his hand… or not?

“This store has a nice display,” Kihyun said, pointing at a storefront display of candies. Thus, Changkyun had to look up to see where his hand went. “Those sugared strawberries look tasty.”

Changkyun finally saw what he was pointing at, and Kihyun  _ did  _ have a point, the sugared strawberries looked  _ marvelous _ . “We should try some,” he offered. “Do you want to go inside?”

Kihyun turned to look at him and nodded. “Yeah, that’ll be nice,” he said. “I can buy some for my mother and sisters-”

“Oh, don’t worry, I’ll pay for it,” Changkyun said, reaching out to grab Kihyun’s hand.  _ Oh shit why did I do that, why did I do that _ -

He saw how Kihyun’s cheeks turned pink before he tentatively reached out to grab Changkyun’s hand. “It’s- it’s fine, maybe we should try them first, plus, we have all day, after all.”

Changkyun was going to combust any second now. “Yeah, I’m glad we have all day,” he admitted, interlocking their fingers together. “Do you-uh, um…”

Kihyun stared at him, waiting for him to finish his sentence. 

“I- I was just wondering if you had, uh, anything specific you wanted to do today,” Changkyun managed to sputter out. “Look around for a while, maybe, uh, I can take you somewhere to eat.”

Kihyun stared at their interlocked hands, his cheeks turning into a more intense red color. “I don’t really have a preference,” he answered truthfully. “Whatever you want to do is fine by me.”

Changkyun nodded. “Okay, okay, uh- let’s get these strawberries first,” he said, walking towards the front door of the shop. “They probably taste really rad.”

“Strawberries are rad,” Kihyun agreed. “I know fruit is more of an omega thing, but…”

“Pfft, that’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard,” Changkyun said. “I always hated those ideas. If  _ I  _ were an omega, you best I would still be eating five tacos a day.”

Kihyun rolled his eyes, grinning. “Well, then maybe we should get tacos later.”

“That sounds enjoyable, yeah,” Changkyun said, taking Kihyun inside to get his sugared strawberries. 

  
  


***

The rest of the weekend for Minhyuk was spent indoors all day, doing homework, eating, sleeping, lounging around, or on Sunday’s case, helping Aunt Hyolyn with some errands. 

He  _ did  _ stay up all night Saturday texting Changkyun, who was rambling about his entire date with Kihyun. He said that he was pretty sure he was being a fool during the whole thing but Kihyun was a “beam of sunshine” (Changkyun’s words). To top it off, Changkyun had been able to kiss Kihyun’s cheek after the whole thing and now he was a sobbing mess in his bedroom. 

Also, he said he bought Minhyuk some sugared strawberries and that he’ll give him some, so there was that to look forward too. 

Minhyuk had been a big coward to message Hyungwon for the rest of the weekend, so… he didn’t. He  _ did  _ tell Wonho about Shownu’s apology or whatever, saying that ‘the can exploded’. Wonho immediately understood, and it made Minhyuk wonder what type of relationship did those two have to have weird ass phrases like that. 

Monday came up, and Minhyuk swore he had just laid down on his bed to go to sleep when his alarm rang, so by the time he arrived at school, he was still in a grumpy mood. 

He put some stuff away in his locker, his stomach grumbling, when he felt grab his arms and shook his body. 

“Yo, yo, yo, what the  _ fuck _ \- Changkyun!” Minhyuk turned around to see his best friend. “What is  _ wrong  _ with you??”

“YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW STRESSFUL MY WEEKEND HAS BEEN!!!” Changkyun screamed at him. Minhyuk was  _ sure  _ that people were giving them dirty looks and it was making him very nervous. “I CAN’T-”

“Changkyun, people are  _ looking!! _ ” Minhyuk harshly whispered to him.

Changkyun closed Minhyuk’s locker shut, and before Minhyuk could say anything, Changkyun grabbed his hand and pulled him down the hallway. “Please, can we skip first period?” he asked him. “I’m scared to see Kihyun, what if he realizes that I’m not worth it and he tells me he doesn’t want to go on dates with me anymore-”

“Look, Changkyun, I recognize that those are your feelings and their valid, but to every sane person’s point of view who can  _ clearly  _ tell that he likes you, that’s fucking stupid, you have to face him at some point,” Minhyuk said. 

“I know but I’m still scared,” Changkyun admitted. “I’m not like you who can be upfront to Hyungwon.”

Minhyuk frowned. “Upfront? With Hyungwon? What do you mean?”

“Your really brave when it comes to him,” Changkyun admitted. He pointed at something in the distance. “Look, he’s over there, whenever you see him, you’re never afraid to-”

Minhyuk grabbed Changkyun’s arm and pulled him faster out of the hallway. “Let’s skip first period faster,” he said, trying to dodge the subject, wondering how his heart could possibly beat if he literally didn’t have any energy. “Come on, tell me about you and Kihyun.”

***

Regarding Minhyuk’s previous comment about how Changkyun couldn’t avoid Kihyun forever, that same concept also, sadly, was the same for him and Hyungwon; the two were in the same Chemistry class, after all. 

For probably the first time all semester, Minhyuk tried really hard to pay attention to the notes during class, forcing himself not to look behind him. He even ignored Seongwoo’s and Minhee’s whispered conversations in order to not fall victim. 

Unfortunately, though, the teacher sent them to do another experiment (really? more experiments? WHY?!?!?), and she said that because of limited materials, they  _ had  _ to work with a partner. 

Oh boy. 

Seongwoo and Minhee immediately turned to each other to be partners, and now Minhyuk was left alone. He looked around and the rest of the class was getting into their usual setup. 

_ Fuck _ .

“Minhyuk?” Minhyuk turned around to see Hyungwon, hugging his notebook tightly to his chest. “Do you want to be partners? The teacher said we need to have one.”

Minhyuk nodded, hiding his trembling hands behind his back. “Yeah, yeah, that’ll be a good idea, yeah, we should be partners, yeah.”

Hyungwon raised an eye. “Uh... are you okay-”

“I’m not drunk but I wish I was,” Minhyuk admitted, standing up abruptly from his chair. “Sometimes I think I am sodium and the world around me is water, and I’m looking for my chloride in life.”

Hyungwon frowned. “I- I have no idea what you just said, but- yeah, let’s just go get the ingredients,” he said, turning around to head towards the back where the lab tables are. “She said to be careful with the amount of magnesium-”

Minhyuk stopped paying attention, fixing his hair real quick to try to look more presentable, hastily grabbing his notebook off his desk to follow after Hyungwon. “Magnesium, got it.”

“Magn- I’m not even going to try to correct you,” Hyungwon muttered. “All day, you look like you’ve been afraid of bumping into someone, is it Shownu?”

Minhyuk stopped in his tracks. “How do you know I was trying to avoid someone?” 

Hyungwon shrugged. “Your eyes are like in a constant lookout,” he explained. “Who are you avoiding?”

_ I can’t exactly say I’m avoiding him, can’t I _ , he thought to himself. “It’s- it’s nothing, just someone who's been giving me dirty looks for a couple of days,” he lied. 

He had a strong feeling Hyungwon caught his lie, but the latter didn’t say anything, probably picking up the fact that Minhyuk didn’t want to talk about. “Well, we should probably get working on this,” Hyungwon said. “We only have limited class time left to work on it.”

Minhyuk nodded, trying not to look at Hyungwon. “Yeah, let’s work on it, yeah.”   
  
***

_ Date: November 16, 2020 _

_ Time: 5:34 PM _ _   
  
_

_ Not gonna lie, I don’t have a single fucking clue what happened during school today. It’s like when I get a massive fucking hangover but I haven’t even touched alcohol at all!! Is that even possible?? _

_ \--- _

_ Date: November 16, 2020 _

_ Time: 6:43 PM  _

_ Apparently, google says I can lose memories because of traumatic events? Like my mind represses it or something? Like what happened with my brother Kwangmin. It didn’t happen with me, though, even though I was there with him. _

_ I couldn’t find anything about not making memories like today, only results for cancer and death, so maybe I’m just freaking out. To be fair, I didn’t have any sleep at all, so that’s probably a valid reason. Another website said it might happen to those with depression, so that makes sense.  _

_ I remember me and Changkyun skipped first period so that he could talk about his date with Kihyun. He gave me those sugared strawberries that he promised me, so I had something to eat thankfully. Don’t remember what I had for lunch, though.  _

_ I have no clue what happened in Chemistry class though. I know I was working with Hyungwon, but what did we do again? An experiment with sulfur? Did I even talk to him? I’m so confused. Maybe I should drink more alcohol or something. Is it bad to get drunk at 7 PM? _

_ Nevermind, mom says dinner is ready soon, I have to go. _

  
  


***

During lunch the next day, Minhyuk had been surprised to not only see Wonho sit with them, but Shownu as well. 

Wonho pulled a chair and sat down, setting his tray on the table while Shownu continued to stand, wondering if the group was going to say anything. 

To his surprise, Changkyun didn’t have a dirty look, more like a surprised one, just like Jooheon and Minhyuk themselves. Shownu didn’t look aggressive, either, so hopefully there would be no more fights in the meantime. 

Hopefully. 

“Hyunwoo, you can sit down,” Wonho said, using his real name. “You said you have to leave lunch early for your class, you don’t have that much time.”

Shownu pulled a chair slowly, looking down at his tray as he sat down. 

Wonho was the only one acting normal at the table, unwrapping his burrito to take a bite, but when he saw how awkward everyone was still being at the table, he sighed. “Guys, say something.”

“Uh- how was your weekend, Shownu?” Jooheon asked, picking up his fork. He wanted to stuff as much rice as possible in his mouth. “Do anything fun?”

Shownu shook his head. “No, I didn’t.”

More awkward silence. 

Wonho slapped his forehead. “Shownu, just say it, forget about the ice breaker advice I told you.”

“But- uh, are you sure-”

“Son Hyunwoo-”

Shownu scratched the back of his neck. “Um, I’m sorry Changkyun for the stuff I told you earlier,” he said, looking away. “I didn’t mean to hit you or call you a slut.”

Changkyun nodded. “Yeah, um, sorry for starting the physical fight,” he said, remembering how he was the one who threw the first punch. “And don’t worry about me being a slut, things are looking good with Kihyun now.”

“Yeah, they went on a date the other day,” Jooheon spoke up. “You should of seen how scared Changkyun was yesterday when he thought he could bump into Kihyun in the hallway-”

“I second that,” Minhyuk said before turning his attention back to his rice. 

“I- it’s not  _ my  _ fault!!” Changkyun said, ignoring Jooheon’s and Shownu’s laughter. “It is perfectly okay for me to be worried!”

“Dude, you’ve been obsessed with Kihyun since forever,” Shownu said. “Any sane person can tell that he likes you too.”

“That’s exactly what  _ I  _ said,” Minhyuk admitted. 

“Changkyun, I hope things work out with you and Kihyun,” Wonho said truthfully. “At least you found an omega you like.”

  
  



	14. Please

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not sure if this requires a trigger warning, but....   
> TW// mentions of like family abuse??? and a past traumatic event (doesnt go into detail)  
> these will happen a bit in the book but ill try not to spread them out so that you don't skip multiple chapters, let me know if you need a recap of the chapter

Wednesday ended up being like the past two days, in terms of Minhyuk’s behaviour - a fucking four year old child who can’t control his emotions. Changkyun was pretty sure he was going to throw a tantrum any second now. 

“Look, man, if  _ I  _ can get Kihyun, you can get Hyungwon,” Changkyun said, watching Minhyuk hastily shove all his things in his locker after school. They were going to walk home together, with Minhyuk claiming he needed a drink and Changkyun reminding him it’s not cool to drink before 10 pm. “He looks like he likes you, why don’t you say anything-”

Minhyuk slammed his locker shut and glared at Changkyun, not moving for a full five seconds. “I’m sorry, how long have you been trying to date Kihyun again?”

Changkyun’s face turned red at the reminder of his stupidity. “That- that doesn’t  _ count _ ,” he said. “I had no idea if Kihyun saw me in that way.”

“Even though all of us- you know what? Nevermind. Nevermind. Forget I said  _ anything _ ,” Minhyuk said, turning around to walk away only to look at Changkyun again and point at him. “Oh, and actually, I’m not in love with Hyungwon. We’re just friends, Changkyun,  _ friends _ . Which is perfectly fine and reasonable, I mean, this is Chae Hyungwon we’re talking about, I mean, it’s already impressive that I have him as a friend, I shouldn’t be asking for anything else-”

“Oh, I came here to ask if you guys wanted ramen.” Jooheon appeared behind Changkyun, putting an arm on his shoulder. “Y’all want to go, I was going to ask Wonho but he and Shownu were too busy talking and laughing at each other and I felt like I was third-wheeling.”

Changkyun shrugged. “Yeah, I’m open to go get ramen,” he said, looking at Minhyuk who was still rambling at the lockers. “We should take Minhyuk, he wants to get drunk now.”

Jooheon made a disgusted face. “As much as I love my vodka, that should be saved for the weekend,” he said. “Hey, Minhyuk! Are you having your rants again? What is it about this time-”

Minhyuk, who finally noticed Jooheon’s presence, turned to look at him to talk to him as well. “-and I didn’t ask to fall in love with Chae Hyungwon, that was  _ never  _ my intention, and I’m not in love with him anyways-”

“Oh, he’s at the contradictions part of his rant, quick, let’s get him out of here before someone overhears him,” Changkyun said, putting his hand over Minhyuk’s mouth. “You. No drinking today. Let’s get you something to eat before you get knocked out at home.”

He ignored the glare Minhyuk was giving him, but thankfully the latter didn’t resist as Changkyun and Jooheon led him outside of the school, where they were now going to eat ramen.

  
  


***

_ Date: November 18, 2020 _

_ Time: 5:02 PM _

_ So. I came back from eating ramen with those two PUNKS. Why are they my friends again? _

_ It was pretty good ramen. Although I almost lost my appetite when I saw some dude come in the store and put a shit ton of coriander on his soup. His friends were all yelling at him. I know one of them, the watermelon obsessed dude. I forgot his name again.  _

_ It was nice hanging out with Jooheon and Changkyun for a bit, but as people were all coming over after finishing school, it was getting crowded so I had to go out and leave. I came home here and I was about to drink but my mom is here and says dinner will be ready soon, so I have to wait a bit. I don’t want her to worry.  _

_ I should probably work on my chemistry homework so that I don’t look like an idiot next to Hyungwon in class.  _

***

During dinner, Minhyuk picked up some rice quietly, trying to ignore the commotion in front of him. 

His father was yelling at Youngmin again, the latter looking down at his plate in shame. Minhyuk  _ hated  _ being present when there was yelling involved. 

“Did you not just ask me  _ yesterday _ to go hang out with you friend Hyunseong only for you to currently be failing two classes?!?!” he yelled at Minhyuk’s younger brother, who looked like he was about to be in tears. “Answer me, omega!”

“Honey, I think Youngmin here has had enough,” Minhyuk’s mother was telling him, reaching her hand out. “Just send him to his room-”

“And what? For him to turn out as pathetic as his twin brother Kwangmin?!” he yelled at her. “Stupid child, you know he’s faking his symptoms! That’s why I don’t want him here in the first place!"

Minhyuk did  _ not  _ need to be hearing this conversation anymore. “I’m going to my room,” he said, standing up from his chair. “I have chemistry homework I need to do.”

His father glared at him but didn’t say anything, turning his attention back at Youngmin. “Give me a second,” he sneered, standing up as well. 

He brushed past Minhyuk, who was standing there wondering what the hell was his dad was going to do next. 

“Minhyuk, can you help me with the dishes today?” his mother asked him quietly, while Youngmin sat there trying to hold in his tears. “I’m going to tutor your brother here, hopefully we can bring his grade up.”

Minhyuk blinked. Usually his mother didn’t ask him to do chores; since he was an alpha, he wasn’t allowed to do them, anyways. “Yeah, sure, no problem,” he said, heading towards the kitchen. “I’m almost done with my chemistry homework anyways-”

His father came back stomping, a handful of what it appeared to be dvd boxes in his hands- oh no, Youngmin’s video games…

Youngmin got up when he recognized them, more tears streaming down his eyes. “Appa, no, please-”

“ _ You  _ don’t have the right to beg to me, child,” his father said, before slamming the video games on the table. “Honey, get me a trashbag.”

Minhyuk distracted himself by picking up the dishes on the table as he watched his father run to the garage, probably to get the bat, as he tried to tune out to the commotion, like what happened on that fateful day to him and Kwangmin. 

***

At around one in the morning, Hyungwon was there next to the ring at his illegal job, bored. He had the water bottles and rags in the box next to him, along with the first aid kit that he had since things always got bloody. Good thing he had practice by taking care of his own injuries. 

The fights were that intense tonight, but he can’t do homework or anything productive, so he just watched as always. The police rarely showed, but just in case, he had his good pair of sneakers should he need to run. Course, that meant he wouldn’t get paid that night, but better than going to jail. 

At one point while they were introducing a new pair to fight each other, Hyungwon looked around the place. It wasn’t that crowded, since it wasn’t the weekend, so he was able to recognize someone  _ very  _ easily. 

There, at the bar, was Minhyuk slamming a shot of some type of alcohol (Hyungwon couldn’t see the color nor did he know shit, anyways), grabbed a bottle in front of him, poured some more, and kept going. 

Okay,  _ why  _ was Minhyuk doing here anyways? Usually when he wanted to see Hyungwon, he just waited outside until Hyungwon got here. Unless he just  _ really  _ wanted some alcohol? But why would he come  _ here  _ out of all places?

Hyungwon couldn’t leave his station, though, so he just sat there the entire time, glancing at Minhyuk every once in a while to make sure he didn’t get in trouble. Minhyuk wasn’t the type of person to get into fights, but Hyungwon knew beforehand that people are different when they’re drunk. 

Some minutes went by with no problem - Minhyuk looked wasted, sure, but he was still sitting down and wasn’t drinking anymore, from Hyungwon’s point of view. However, it wasn’t when he noticed someone standing around Minhyuk that he started to worry. 

The stranger was placing their hands over Minhyuk. Was he looking for something to steal? Did he want to take advantage? Was he going to hurt him-   
  


Hyungwon sat up and walked up to the stranger, ignoring the ref behind him asking him where the hell he was going. “Hey, who the fuck are you?” Hyungwon yelled at him, pulling him away from a drunk Minhyuk. 

The guy was an alpha and had a wallet in his hands, more precisely,  _ Minhyuk’s  _ wallet. “Calm down, I’m his friend,” the guy said, stuffing the wallet in his coat. “He asked me to come here with him-”   
  


Hyungwon dug into the guy’s pocket and took the wallet back out, ignoring the guy’s surprised look. “Nice try, alpha,” he said, holding the wallet up before stuffing it in his thin jacket’s pocket. “He only has four friends and I know how all of them look like.”

“I’m not about to let some omega get smart with me,” the alpha said, sneering at him. “You don’t know who you’re messing with-”

“No, I don’t, and neither does here, so go away, bitch,” Hyungwon said. 

It was moments like these that Hyungwon was thankful for his grand height, though it did put him at a disadvantage with other omegas.

“Damn, whore, okay,” the alpha said, walking away. Hyungwon noticed he walked towards a group of men who immediately glared at Hyungwon.

Well, whatever. Stupid ass alphas. 

“Oh, god, what are we going to do with you, Minhyuk,” Hyungwon muttered. He tried to lift up Minhyuk’s head, who had been sleeping on the counter semi-conscious. “Minhyuk, can you hear me-”

“Just  _ what  _ the fuck do you think you’re doing??” Hyungwon turned around to see his boss behind him. “Go back to work, water boy, don’t you see the fights getting bloody??”

Ah, shit.

Deep down, Hyungwon already knew what was coming, but a small part of him wished for it not to go how he thought. “Sorry, sir, but my friend is drunk,” Hyungwon said, trying to grab Minhyuk’s shoulders. “I’m just trying to help him-”

“You know the rules, Hyungwon.” His boss turned to one of his assistants. “You know what to do.”

The assistant grabbed both Hyungwon and Minhyuk’s neck, the latter not even noticing what was going on. “Get the hell out of here.”

  
  


***

It was a long walk home to take Minhyuk, but somehow, just  _ somehow _ , Hyungwon managed to do it. 

He stood in front of the house, his arms in pain. He was pretty sure he just busted open some of his newly-formed scabs, but he didn’t want to think about it staining his only jacket. Right now, he had to get Minhyuk back in his bed. 

Don’t even  _ mention  _ how cold he was. It was fucking November, after all. 

Hyungwon searched Minhyuk’s pockets for his keys, taking them out. He was having serious deja vu right now, but at least this time he knew Minhyuk wasn’t going to call him a stalker. The fuck did he look like, Ukiss?

He opened the front door slowly to not disturbed anyone in the house. It was really dark but Hyungwon didn’t want to risk turning on a light, so he dragged Minhyuk in the dark, praying no one would notice them. 

Instantly, he was relieved with the warm air in the house, wondering how the hell was Minhyuk’s family able to afford this type of heating system.

While dragging him, about a minute passed when he accidentally stepped on something, like plastic pieces. He had no idea what it was but he wasn’t about to find out. Probably some toys on the floor or something, who knows. 

Minhyuk was close to waking up now, slurring some unintelligible words, but he wasn’t resisting to Hyungwon dragging him up the stairs, the omega taking his time as he did not have muscles like  _ some  _ alphas that Minhyuk knew. 

He managed to drag Minhyuk to his room, throwing the latter on his bed. Since it was November, it was cold at night, so he grabbed a blanket that he found on the floor and put it over Minhyuk, placing a pillow under him. Minhyuk might get uncomfortable with those clothes, but Hyungwon still refused to change him into pajamas. 

“Hello?” Minhyuk muttered under his breath, groaning. “Hello? Help me.”   
  


Figuring it was the drunkenness talking, Hyungwon ignored him, placing MInhyuk’s wallet, phone and keys on his nightstand where he would be able to see them in the morning. 

“Minhyuk, it’s me, Hyungwon, I took you home,” he said, hand on the doorknob as he was ready to leave. He didn’t want to think about not being able to afford his mother’s bills for a while. “Don’t accuse me of shit, okay?”

“Hyungwon, no, I’m- I think I’m in love with Hyungwon-” Minhyuk mumbled again, rolling around the bed. “I’m in love with him, yeah, I think- oh fuck, I think- this is hard, Chae Hyungwon-”

Hyungwon’s eyes widened. ‘Uh… what?”

“I want- are you Hyungwon?” Minhyuk sat up from the bed slowly, head struggling to stay up. “You look like Hyungwon, he stole my heart, did you know that??” he laughed. “He did. He wasn’t supposed to, but he did-”

“Go to sleep, Minhyuk,” Hyungwon said, stepping forward to push him down on the bed again. It was a no-brainer that he probably wasn’t going to show up to school tomorrow. “You’re going to have a  _ bad  _ hangover, I saw the way you drunk today-”

“Tell him that I love him,” Minhyuk mumbled. “That I want to kiss him, hold him, eat his stupid ass rice, I’ll do it.”

Minhyuk drifted out to sleep again, knocked out on the pillow, leaving Hyungwon with a mess of thoughts in his head as he walked home by himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MONSTA X COMEBACK SVT COMEBACK AND NCT2020 BITCHES


	15. Rice and Chicken

Minhyuk was surprised to wake up at 2 PM on a Thursday. 

Well,  _ clearly  _ he wasn’t going to school today; class would practically be over by the time he made it out of the doors of his house. It took him like ten minutes alone to be done puking in the bathroom anyways. 

Damn, did Minhyuk go out drinking on a  _ Wednesday _ ? Did anything even happen yesterday? Minhyuk didn’t have a clue. 

Missing one day of school wouldn’t hurt him, anyways.

Changkyun was right, it probably wasn’t cool for him to be drinking before 10 pm. Wait… when did he drink yesterday again?

Sighing, he rinsed out his mouth again for the fifth time in a row, gargling some water in his mouth. No matter how much he tried, he  _ still  _ couldn’t get rid of the taste of puke in his mouth. He must have drunk some heavy shit yesterday to make him be like this. 

His pounding heachache was practically  _ begging  _ for him to pop in an Advil or twenty but just the thought of putting something in his mouth made him want to puke again, so Minhyuk was going to have to alpha it up.

Minhyuk brushed his teeth again, thinking of all the homework and notes he was going to miss for today. Did he have a test today? What if he missed that and got a bad grade?

He decided it would probably be good right now to send Changkyun a quick text and ask him. Changkyun knew Minhyuk’s schedule and could easily ask other alphas and omegas if there was anything for those classes. 

And maybe-  _ maybe  _ he could ask Hyungwon anything about chemistry, too…

Minhyuk hadn’t grabbed his phone all day; he only knew the time because of the clock on his wall when he looked at it for three seconds before dashing to the bathroom to puke all the contents of his guts out, which meant he didn’t know if he had any missed messages from the omega. Maybe he should check soon- 

His stomach started gurgling again, and before Minhyuk knew it, he threw up in his sink all over again. 

  
  


***   
  


By three o’clock, when Minhyuk managed to sit at his kitchen table with a sad bowl of cereal right in front of him, he finally,  _ finally _ , turned on his phone to see his missed messages. 

There were at  _ least  _ thirty by Changkyun that were all over the place, so Minhyuk grabbed his journal and wrote a quick list under the new entry he was writing. 

_ Date: November 19, 2020 _

_ Time: 3:04 PM _

_ I went out drinking last night. I read my past entry and I remember why, but I must have gotten so wasted since I’ve been throwing up the past hour. Don’t know how I got home. Was it Hyungwon? I wish it were Hyungwon.  _

_ Changkyun sent me a thousand messages, so I’m going to write a quick summary here since I’m not about to scroll up everytime to read them to know what I miss _

__

  * _Kihyun gave him a small candle (+10 ish messages about how much he was in love with him)_


  * Shownu was flirting with this girl all morning named Yeonjung. No idea if they are dating or not


  * Jooheon will be gone for a week because of a cousin’s wedding in Japan 


  * There was a fight between Minwoo and Donghyun during lunch* (I don’t really know these people, I think my brother Youngmin knows them)



He couldn’t help but think about the fight between his family yesterday about his younger brother Youngmin, which only led him to think about Kwangmin. 

He forced himself not to think about Kwangmin as he continued scrolling through the messages and writing down any new information, ignoring his pounding headache.

  * _Wonho had been silent all day* (Wonho’s always like that though)_


  * Also Changkyun reminding me that he’s going to be in my house in 20 minutes demanding my whereabouts


  * Hyungwon



Minhyuk stopped at the last new set of messages when he saw the word Hyungwon, wondering why would Changkyun mention him unless it’s to tease him about it. 

The first message about Hyungwon basically said that Hyungwon was asking if Changkyun had heard about Minhyuk all day. The second was that Hyungwon told him that he took him home after drinking (so Minhyuk  _ was  _ right!) and that he might be hungover.

Damn, Hyungwon  _ was  _ smart. 

The last few messages contained Changkyun teasing Minhyuk about Hyungwon, reminding him about any embarrassing events from yesterday, and reminding Minhyuk  _ again  _ that Changkyun was going to be in his house in 20 minutes with Jooheon’s chicken that he stole during lunch. 

Minhyuk used his left hand to slowly put another spoonful of cereal in his mouth, sending Changkyun a  _ just woke up, sorry  _ text before getting out of messages to put on his Humanoids album on spotify again. He wasn’t really in the mood to talk to anyone right now.

He picked a random song and let his phone drop to the table, slowly shoving another spoonful of cereal in his mouth. He had just now realized that he accidentally poured orange juice in his cereal instead of milk, but he was too tired to care. 

Minhyuk had no idea how much time had gone by (though probably not long since Changkyun wasn’t here yet to beat his ass) when he suddenly heard the doorbell ring, causing him to set his spoon with cereal and orange juice back down. 

Speak of the devil. 

Rubbing his eyes quickly to try to wake himself up a bit more, Minhyuk stood up from his chair in the dining room and walked slowly to the foyer, yawning again. 

“Coming~” he half yelled, half slurred as he trudged his way to the door, leaning back a bit to crack his back. 

By the time he reached the door, the knocking had stopped, so he opened it, immediately squinting at the sunlight. “Please don’t kill me, I don’t want my death to be in your hands.”

“...um, you probably shouldn’t be talking about death so early,” Hyungwon said- wait, what the fuck-

Minhyuk opened his eyes slowly, getting used to the sunlight and the omega in front of him. “Wait… Hyungwon? What are you doing here?"

Hyungwon had a bowl of tupperware in his hands, dressed in usual black jacket and jeans. Minhyuk noticed how the seams of the jacket were tearing apart; it didn't look to be of good material since Hyungwon was practically shivering. 

Oh, fuck, Hyungwon was shivering. 

“I came to bring you-” Hyungwon started, only to be startled when Minhyuk grabbed his arm and pulled him inside the house. “Uh, Minhyuk-”   
  


“Shit, I’m sorry, I hope you weren’t freezing out here,” Minhyuk said, closing the door shut behind them, locking it. “I woke up an hour again but I’m, like, just now having breakfast.”

Hyungwon bit his lip, looking away. “Figured. I mean-” he held the tupperware container tightly, rocking his feet back and forth. “You  _ did  _ drink a lot yesterday.”

“... Yeah, about that, uh-” Minhyuk scratched the back of his neck. “I’m assuming you found me somewhere and brought me home again. Knowing me, I was lying half dead on the pavement."

“Yeah, let’s hope we never reach that point,” Hyungwon interrupted him. “And I mean… I’m assuming you’re alive right now.” 

Minhyuk shrugged. “I guess you can call it that,” he said, turning around to face the inside of the house. “Oh, yeah, this is where I live, though I’m assuming you know the inside by now, unfortunately.”

Hyungwon didn’t really plan to stay long, but he took off his shoes with his feet anyways as he glanced at the interior of the house. “I mean, it’s different when it’s not pitch black. Or dragging your body.”

“I’m definitely going to be on the pavement one of these days,” Minhyuk muttered. “Um… you can sit anywhere, if you want."

Stepping forward, Hyungwon walked slowly towards the living room in his socks, feeling the hardwood floor with his heel as he had a hole. “This place looks big,” he mumbled under his breath. 

Minhyuk sat down in front of the kitchen table again, picking up his spoon. “You can have breakfast if you want,” he said, taking another spoonful of his cereal while still maintaining eye contact with Hyungwon. “Or-” he swallowed quickly since the cereal was soggy. “I guess your dinner.”

“I’m sorry, I’m not the one waking up at 3 pm,” Hyungwon said, setting the tupperware container on the table as he sat opposite of Minhyuk. “I’m good- though, yeah.”

Minhyuk swallowed some cereal, pointing his spoon wet with orange juice at Hyungwon. “I woke up at 2 actually, I’ll have you know,” he said. “And you shouldn’t miss your dinner.”

Hyungwon rolled his eyes. “Still not a good accomplishment,” he said, before glancing at Minhyuk, who was still staring at him, cereal in his mouth. “I ate before I got here, really, I’m good- oh, fuck, this is for you.” He pushed the container towards Minhyuk, giving him an awkward shrug. “Your drunk ass wanted some.”

“Oh, really?” Minhyuk asked, curious. “Thanks- uh, what is it?”

“Just- it’s rice, I guess,” Hyungwon explained. “My rice.”

Minhyuk raised an eye. “What do you mean, your rice?”

Hyungwon shrugged again. “I mean, it’s the rice I do at home, I don’t have a name for it,” he explained. “Nor do I particularly care.”

Minhyuk shook his head frantically. “Hyungwon, you don’t have to give me rice, really, I’m good-”

“Minhyuk, can you just accept the rice already,” Hyungwon scolded him. “I’m not- I’m not really in the mood right now- actually, I should probably just leave,” he trailed off, scooting his chair back. “This was a mistake-”

“Woah, woah,  _ woah,  _ Hyungwon what are you talking about- hey-” Minhyuk almost threw himself over the table in an attempt to grab Hyungwon’s wrist, stopping him. He didn’t even notice spilling his bowl of cereal, spilt orange juice clinging to his shirt. “Hyungwon.”

Hyungwon turned around to look at Minhyuk’s grasp on his wrist. “You do one wrong movement and you’re probably going to throw up again.”

“Don’t- don’t jinx it,” Minhyuk said, not breaking eye contact or his grip as he held on tighter. “You don’t want to jinx it.

Hyungwon squinted his eyes. “Minhyuk, you’re still holding my hand.”

Minhyuk ignored the goosebumps forming on his arm. “I know.”

“I-” Hyungwon bent down to be at eye level with Minhyuk. “Minhyuk,” he said in a low voice. “You  _ do  _ know you spilled your cereal all over the table-”

What surprised him at the moment was the weird way Minhyuk was looking at that moment, all wide-eyed and glossy. Hyungwon was pretty damn sure he had never seen Minhyuk with that look. 

“What’s in your rice?” Minhyuk asked quietly. 

“I mean, rice and water and- and butter, garlic powder…” Hyungwon said, trailing off. “Chicken bouillon, onion powder, salt. Better than your korean rice.”

“No, Korean rice will still remain superior,” Minhyuk said, laughing. “Although I may be biased, though.” He looked at the container on the table. “I should probably try it.”   
  


Hyungwon nodded, choosing to look at the ceiling instead at Minhyuk who was probably having an existential crisis right now. “Sounds like a plan,” he said. “Maybe you should eat it with your breakfast at 3 pm.”

“Well, I still woke up at 2 pm,” Minhyuk said, leaning forward. “You can’t change that.”

“Looks like you can’t change a lot of stuff,” Hyungwon said. 

Minhyuk gulped. “No, you cannot,” he said. “Like my f-”

Right at that moment, a pounding at the door interrupted the two of them. “HELLO!!! MINHYUK, I KNOW YOU’RE IN THERE-”

“Ah, fuck, Changkyun,  _ why? _ ” Minhyuk let go of Hyungwon’s hand and rushed towards the door; his mom told him that if Changkyun ever broke the front door again he was going to get grounded. “Changkyun, stop!”

Minhyuk opened the front door to reveal a disheveled Changkyun trying to catch his breath. “You-” Changkyun said, pausing to pant. “You- you were- you were  _ late-  _ you didn’t show up-”

“Hungover,” Minhyuk said simply, trying not to think of all the puking he did today. 

“Well-” Changkyun said, still breathing heavily as he reached to open his backpack, pulling out a bag of chicken. “Jooheon let me steal this chicken that he stole from his cousin Jinki, you should eat it- holy!” Changkyun pushed past Minhyuk to enter the house, noticing Hyungwon standing in the dining room. “Hyungwon is here!”

Hyungwon bowed a little, shrugging. “Hey,” he said, giving Changkyun a small wave. 

“Oh, Changkyun, yeah, Hyungwon was here to give me rice,” Minhyuk stammered, blocking Hyungwon from Changkyun’s view. “Yeah, just rice, yeah.”

Changkyun’s eyes widened. “Aha! You can eat rice with the chicken! What a good way to have breakfast at 3pm.” 

  
  



	16. Changkyun's Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im off to see gose, peace

“Why are you guys so quiet?” Changkyun asked, helping himself to another serving of chicken. “Minhyuk, I  _ told  _ you drinking is only for the weekends.”

The three of them were sitting in Minhyuk’s dining room, Changkyun being the only one to actually be eating the chicken he brought earlier, right when he was interrupting Minhyuk spilling to Hyungwon about his feelings regarding the omega. 

To be fair, Minhyuk was still wildly hungover, and the thought of eating made him want to throw up. Not to mention he upset his stomach by combining cereal and orange juice. 

Hyungwon, who was sitting across from Minhyuk, stared at the untouched plate in the front of him, having only taken two bites, feeling out of place presumably. 

“I already told you that I’m going to puke any second now,” Minhyuk informed his alpha friend. “And  _ excuse  _ me for wanting to drink, it’s a perfectly normal thing to do.”

“On a Wednesday afternoon?” Changkyun asked him. Then, turning to Hyungwon, he said, “Do you think it’s logical what he’s saying? Please tell me I’m not the only one.”

Hyungwon blinked at Changkyun, trying to think of how to respond to that. “Uh…-”

“Stop trying to harass Hyungwon,” Minhyuk interrupted them, forcing himself to pick up the fork. Fuck Changkyun’ stolen chicken, if he ate any grease that was  _ not  _ going to sit well in his stomach. He appreciated the gesture of his friend, though. “And don’t you dare say I’m an alcoholic.”

Changkyun raised his hand up. “I didn’t say anything,” he said. “Matter of fact, to prove my point that it’s stupid to drink alone during the week, I’ll throw a party tomorrow, just so that we can drink together.”

Hyungwon darted his eyes between the two alphas, wondering what type of relationship they had, but didn’t say anything. 

Meanwhile, Minhyuk squinted his eyes at his best friend. “What are you trying to do?”

“Well, we haven’t partied in a while, to be honest,” Changkyun said truthfully. “And, also, I don’t plan on getting drunk, maybe drinking a cup or two, but I want to… I guess impress Kihyun?”

“That makes no sense whatsoever,” Minhyuk said. “Besides-”

“What do you mean?” Hyungwon asked him, confused. “It totally makes sense.”

Minhyuk stared at him. “How does that make sense?”

Hyungwon gestured towards Changkyun. “Literally everyone knows Changkyun is in love with this Kihyun,” he explained. “But… okay, not to play into stereotypes but Kihyun is like the type of omega to really value friendliness, so if he sees that the guy he’s interested in is really nice and cares about these people, you know, while throwing a party, hanging out with them…” he shrugged. “At least, that’s what I think. Now, on the  _ other  _ hand, if Changkyun gets drunk and does some stupid shit, then Kihyun would probably feel shitty about himself, which is why your friend here is going to be careful in how much he drinks.”

Changkyun stared at Hyungwon, mouth open. “How- how did you come up with that?” 

“I- I mean, you can tell,” Hyungwon said, shrugging again. “That’s just the vibe he gives. Although, to be fair, I don’t know him that well so I can’t really infer anything.”

He picked up his fork to take a bite of the food in front of him, not wanting to meet their gazes, but it was rendering useless, anyways. 

Had to admit, the chicken was pretty good, though. 

“You’re so smart, how in the world did you figure all of this out?” Changkyun asked him, bewildered. “I- wow, it’s just- I need your help,” he said, slamming his hands on the table. “You got to help me with Kihyun.”

“Changkyun, leave him alone, don’t threaten him,” Minhyuk reminded Changkyun again. 

“I am  _ not  _ threatening him- please, you  _ got  _ to help me,” Changkyun whispered to Hyungwon, as if Minhyuk couldn’t hear him. “I am probably the biggest idiot you’ll ever meet, plus, I can  _ really  _ use an omega’s help.”

Hyungwon raised an eye. “Why an omega, specifically?” 

Minhyuk slammed his head on the kitchen table. “I hate you, Changkyun.”

“I- I mean, I don’t know what an omega thinks or likes,” Changkyun stuttered. “And I  _ really  _ don’t want to mess up.”

“I- okay, um…” Hyungwon trailed off, eyes raised in confusion. “Look, not all omegas think the same-”

“I- yeah you’re right, I just- AHHHHHHHH!” Changkyun slammed his head on the table as well just like Minhyuk ten seconds earlier, only he did it on his half-eaten plate of food. He didn’t seem to notice, though, as he was in the middle of his existential crisis. “I’m going to fail,” he mumbled. 

Minhyuk lifted his head back up, rubbing the sore spot on his head. “I’ll help you with your party but let me drink a bottle of cognac,” he whispered, his eyes shut. “I don’t want to think anymore.”

“Who does,” Hyungwon said, letting the two friends be dramatic with one another as he forced himself to take a bite of the chicken. It was pretty good, he had to admit, and free food doesn’t come often to people like him. “Who does.”   
  


***

  
  


Since Minhyuk woke up at an unreasonable hour that Thursday, that meant that he absolutely did  _ not  _ go to sleep at a good hour.

Matter of fact, actually, Minhyuk didn’t even sleep last night. No, instead of sleeping, he went walking in the cold to where Hyungwon worked, only to be confused and not find him there working that Thursday night. He sent a text to Hyungwon, but… no answer. 

Well, he could only hope that Hyungwon was finally getting sleep, making him the first between the two of them. 

Yeah, Minhyuk was aware he had a problem, don’t remind him of it. 

Friday morning came, and Minhyuk went to school, hoping there wasn’t anything that he missed the day before while he was hungover. Yeah, his headache and desire to puke came and went the entire day, and it was a pain in the ass. 

Luckily, everything seemed to be okay for the first half of the school day. So, when he walked into his chemistry class and headed towards his seat, earbuds in, he wasn’t anxious anymore. 

He sat down and pulled out his binder, immediately grabbing his phone again to send another message to Changkyun, when out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hyungwon enter the chemistry class as well, his thin jacket on as he clutched his backpack tightly, where Minhyuk could see a small bruise on his jaw. 

His eyes widened when he noticed. “Hyungwon, uh- hey.”

Hyungwon looked at him. “Oh, hey, he said. “I didn’t know if you were going to show up today or not.”

Right. Yesterday, Hyungwon came to his house and brought him rice. He stayed for a bit but left a while after Changkyun came, stating he had to go home and do something. Thus, he got to see Minhyuk in all of his hungover glory. 

“Yeah, yesterday was not one of my brightest moments,” Minhyuk admitted, putting his phone down. “But… thanks for coming over, it was nice. And… sorry for Changkyun.”

Hyungwon rolled his eyes, stifling a laugh. “You don’t have to apologize for your friend, you know,” he said, grinning. “He meant no harm.”

“I know, he’s just- he’s so  _ dense _ ,” Minhyuk explained. “He’s my friend and I care about him, don’t get me wrong, but he- I just can’t  _ believe  _ he ruined-” he stopped himself when he realized what he was about to say. 

“Ruin… wait, what did he ruin?” Hyungwon asked, confused. 

Thankfully, the bell rang, signaling that class was starting, so Hyungwon gave him a wave before heading quickly to his seat, getting his stuff ready for class. 

_ That was a safe one, _ Minhyuk thought to himself, already hating himself. Why did he always have to open his big, fat, mouth?

While he ran over many thoughts in his head, he barely even noticed the teacher enter the classroom, instructing the students to take out their lab report which is due today-

Oh.  _ Fuck _ . 

Minhyuk’s eyes widened, realizing him and Hyungwon haven’t even worked on it. Wait, have they even  _ started _ ? Did they start? Fuck, they didn’t even  _ start  _ it-

He turned around his seat, seeing Hyungwon who was pulling out a stapled packet from his binder. 

“Hyungwon,” Minhyuk whispered at the omega, even though the rest of the class was already speaking to one another, happy that the project is over with. “Hyungwon-”

Hyungwon looked up, raising an eye. “Uh… Minhyuk, are you okay-”

“We didn’t do the project!” Minhyuk harshly whispered to him. “And it’s due today! I forgot!”

“Minhyuk, calm down, I have it right here,” Hyungwon said, lifting up the stapled packet. “You worry too much, Minhyuk.”

Wait, what?

“Y-you finished it?” Minhyuk asked.

Hyungwon shrugged. “Yeah, last night.”

“But-but Hyungwon, you didn’t- ah shit, I’m  _ so  _ sorry!” Minhyuk said a bit louder, ignoring some stares he was getting. “I- I really didn’t mean to leave you all the work-”

“MInhyuk, it’s  _ fine _ ,” Hyungwon reassured him. “I know you’ve been dealing with stuff and forgot, it’s fine-”

“No, it’s not- ah,  _ shit _ !” Minhyuk cursed under his breath. “I- I’ll make it up to you,” he said. “Anything, I promise.”

Hyungwon stared at him, hands holding onto his project tightly. “Uh… I mean, I don’t know-”

“Do you want me to make you dinner?” Minhyuk blurted abruptly. “Or take you out to eat or something?” 

“You  _ really  _ don’t have to get me anything-” Hyungwon started to say, only to stop when he noticed Minhyuk’s face. “Uh- okay, I guess. You can treat me to dinner.”   
  


***

  
  


That Friday evening, Hyungwon was standing in what appeared to be in front of some big house, the party in full swing. 

Minhyuk’s friend, Changkyun, had invited both him and MInhyuk to… whatever this was, and even though Hyungwon had absolutely no desire to go, he knew Minhyuk was going to be, drinking his ass off. So, he went. 

Hyungwon would have been perfectly fine standing outside in normal circumstances, not wanting to be inside where he didn’t know anyone, but it was  _ freezing  _ outside and he had his thin jacket. Plus, he wanted to know how Minhyuk was faring, so he suck it up and headed inside. 

Yep. Your typical high school party. There was no difference  _ whatsoever.  _ Cramped, different levels of people being drunk, some people making out, etc. 

Although they seemed to be having a good time, Hyungwon had to admit. He just personally didn’t want to deal with anything relating to alcohol. Each person to their own taste. 

He weaved his way through the living, glad that everyone was in their own world, scanning the crowd to see where Minhyuk and his friends were located. He noticed the alpha with an anger issue making out with an omega pinned to the wall, but  _ clearly  _ he was occupied, so he couldn’t ask him.

At the kitchen, though, where all the drinks were stacked up all over the counters and kitchen island, he was able to see Changkyun talking to Kihyun. Kihyun must have been saying something funny, since Changkyun, who still looked a bit nervous, started laughing, no doubt the tensions between them easing up. 

“Oh, jesus christ,” Hyungwon muttered to himself, grabbing a can of coca cola on the counter (Changkyun was true to his word when he said he had non-alcoholic drinks available), and headed outside, wanting some time to himself. 

He went through the back door and went into the enormous backyard, where there was barely anyone outside, no doubt the weather being too cold. No screaming, no sweaty people, only cold, freezing air. 

Hyungwon opened his can of soda and took a sip, shivering because of the freezing air. He hated winter time, hated what the season coming meant every year. If only he could turn eighteen sooner. 

He took another sip when he scanned the setting again, realizing that the person on the deck gulping an entire bottle of some drink by himself was… oh. So that’s why he couldn’t find him inside. 

Hyungwon stepped closer to Minhyuk and sat down next to him, not even bothering to say hi. Minhyuk was probably too drunk at this point to notice him there. 

Surprisingly, though, Minhyuk  _ wasn’t _ . He almost jumped when he saw Hyungwon sat down next to him. “Hyungwon?” 

“Yeah, that’s me,” Hyungwon said, setting his can next to him on the deck. “Chae Hyungwon. I’m assuming you’re having fun?”

Minhyuk shook his head, staring at the bottle of cognac in his hands. “No. I hate crowds, I hate it, and I  _ really  _ want to forget.” 

“Forget about… forget about what?” Hyungwon asked. 

Minhyuk sighed. “A lot,” he admitted. “My brother Kwangmin. This whole Shownu Wonho thing. You.” 

He took a long swing of the bottle, chugging a good portion of it, leaving Hyungwon to be surprised alone. 

“What do you mean, me?” Hyungwon asked again. “What did I do?”

Minhyuk set the empty bottle besides him, grabbing another one that he had nearby, popping the cork off with his keys. “You stole my heart,” Minhyuk said calmly, while struggling with the cork. “That’s what you did."

As Minhyuk continued to struggle with the bottle, Hyungwon’s eyes widened in bewilderment. What the  _ hell  _ did Minhyuk mean by that?

The last thing he wanted to do was misunderstand what Minhyuk was saying and get a false sense of hope.

Hyungwon thought of the nonsense Minhyuk was sputtering the night before, when Hyungwon dragged his drunk ass home. Only now, though, Minhyuk wasn’t drunk. 

Yet.

He reached over and slapped the bottle off of Minhyuk’s hands, thankful it wasn’t opened yet. “Don’t you dare open that.”

“I- why not?” Minhyuk asked all innocent. 

“You- you can’t just say stuff like and expect me to be normal about it!” Hyungwon yelled at him. “What do you mean, steal your heart?”

Minhyuk got up and grabbed the bottle of cognac that fell on the ground. “Hyungwon, let me get drunk first-”

“Don’t you  _ dare  _ get drunk first!” Hyungwon shouted, standing up as well. “Let me have  _ one  _ conversation with you without you dodging the question or being drunk, Minhyuk!”

“Okay, you want to hear it!?” Minhyuk raised his voice, thankful there wasn’t anyone outside. “I like you! A lot, Hyungwon, a lot! And I swear I’ve never felt this way with anyone before.” He paused. “So forgive me for wanting to get drunk to avoid hearing the rejection.”

Minhyuk managed to open the bottle and was about to take another swig when he felt Hyungwon grab his wrist, stopping him. 

“You make me mad, you know that?” Hyungwon said. “You already said this yesterday. I just thought- I just thought you were playing around-”

“Wait,  _ what _ ?!” Minhyuk shrieked. “When in the world did I say that?!” 

Hyungwon rolled his eyes. “You were drunk when I was working and I took you home, do you  _ not  _ remember what caused your hangover?”

Minhyuk stared at him with wide eyes, trying to comprehend what Hyungwon was saying. “I-” he gulped. “Well… what was your answer?”

“My- my what now?” Hyungwon asked. 

“Your answer,” Minhyuk repeated. “What was it?”

Hyungwon let go of Minhyuk’s arm. “Minhyuk, you were drunk, you didn’t even know it was me.”

“Now  _ you’re  _ the one doging the question,” Minhyuk pointed out. 

“I am  _ not  _ dodging the question,” Hyungwon said. “I didn’t give you one, you were drunk and I thought you were joking, so if you want an honest answer, I want you to look at me dead in the eyes and say it without being intoxicated.” 

Minhyuk didn’t say anything, maintaining eye contact with Hyungwon as he poured the entire bottle of cognac beside him onto the grass, dropping the bottle when it became empty. “I like you,” he said at the end. “And… I want to know your thoughts about it.” 

Hyungwon looked away, hiding his hands behind his back. “It’s mutual,” he muttered. “It’s mutual, Minhyuk.”

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for some reason i love my stories having 25 chapters, i feel like it's perfect
> 
> but yes, we have 9 more chapters to go. do you guys like this story? it's definitely a new style i was trying


	17. More Questions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it took so long!!! about that cliffhanger hehe

Minhyuk somehow,  _ somehow _ , managed to be sober during their walk downtown. 

Earlier at school, Minhyuk had promised to take Hyungwon out to dinner, and that is exactly what he decided to do afterwards, during the whole confessing in Changkyun’s backyard thing. 

Yeah, don’t remind him of that. 

They had been silent after telling each other their true feelings, scared of what was to happen next, so Minhyuk broke the silence and said they should probably get away from there and maybe eat, especially since it was really dark outside. He knew Hyungwon, with his messed up sleep schedule, usually got up at this hour and was probably craving something, and the amount of alcohol in Minhyuk’s system was begging him to eat something, so off they went.

Neither of them had mentioned where to eat, though, so they walked on the bustling sidewalk, Minhyuk with his hands in his pockets and Hyungwon holding his behind his back, as the two tried to ignore the crowd the best that they could.

“Did you have anywhere in mind?” Minhyuk piped up, breaking the silence. “I mean, I  _ did  _ promise you dinner.”

Hyungwon looked at him wide-eyed before glancing at the concrete beneath him again. “No, not- not really,” he said quietly. “I don’t really have anything in mind.”

Minhyuk looked away, staring at the people around them. Usually, his thoughts would involve him trying to get away from everyone, but he was more anxious of what Hyungwon thought of him at that moment, so he was trying his best to keep his cool. 

Suddenly, a familiar diner caught Minhyuk’s eye. “Do you  _ still  _ think Korean rice sucks?” Minhyuk asked Hyungwon. “Is that how it’s going to be?”

Hyungwon raised an eye at him. “Yeah, I still hate it,” he said. “I like my rice better, the one I make at home or Chinese rice.”

“Well, maybe we should eat your Chinese rice,” Minhyuk suggested. “Not gonna lie, I don’t really eat Chinese food that much.”

He pointed at the diner, the two of them stopping right at the entrance. From the windows, they could see that it was full of people, from gangs made up of alphas to couples going on double dates to groups of college students not willing to go back to their dorms yet. 

“Wouldn’t it be a bad idea to go in?” Hyungwon said, standing on his tiptoes even though he was tall enough. 

Minhyuk frowned. “Why is that?”

“I mean, you hate crowds,” Hyungwon pointed out. “And also, I don’t know what’s your recent obsession with rice but I just  _ can’t  _ for the life of me see you scarf down anything other than plain white rice, which is saying something considering how you put orange juice in your cereal yesterday.”

“To be fair, I  _ was  _ hungover,” Minhyuk reminded him. “And I don’t have an obsession with rice. I’m more of a kimchi guy.”

“I’m more of a kimchi guy,” Hyungwon mocked him quietly, rolling his eyes. “Minhyuk, how much alcohol did you drink before I stopped you?”

Minhyuk shrugged. “I don’t know but I am sure I will remember all this tomorrow, and I don’t know if that’ll be a good thing or bad thing.”

Hyungwon stole a quick glance at Minhyuk before looking back at the inside of the diner. “You never remember anything,” he said quietly. 

“No, that’s my brother Kwangmin,” Minhyuk muttered, stepping towards the diner. “God, I feel like I’m going to faint.”

“I have a  _ really  _ strong feeling you're going to faint in a ditch one day,” Hyungwon said, following him inside.

“With a missing kidney, maybe,” Minhyuk added. “Eh, it wouldn’t be that bad.”

Hyungwon squinted his eyes at him. “You  _ do  _ know you’re going to have to give up drinking if you lose a kidney, right?”

“I thought that was if you did something to your liver,” Minhyuk said. “Damn, good thing I’m only taking chemistry, I guess.”

The two didn’t say anything else about the subject, as they were soon seated by one of the waiters, who led them thankfully to one of the tables near the end of the restaurant, handing them both menus for them to look at. 

They remained in silence, Hyungwon tucking his hands underneath his thighs for warmth as he read the menu, wondering what to try this time. Meanwhile, Minhyuk chose to stare intently at Hyungwon, not really caring about what he was going to eat, too busy wondering what the omega was thinking about. 

Unfortunately, he had no clue, especially when Hyungwon, without even looking up, suddenly said “Minhyuk, why are you even looking at me, I’m not on the menu.”

Minhyuk could feel the back of his neck getting warm. “I- what part of I- nevermind.”

Frowning, Hyungwon finally looked up. “ _ How  _ in the world were you going to finish that sentence?”

“Wait, I’m still picking on what to order,” Minhyuk said, lifting up his menu in order to not see Hyungwon. “I’m not ready.”

“Course not, you were too busy looking at me,” Hyungwon reminded him. 

“Is- is that a  _ crime  _ now?” Minhyuk put down his menu, still not looking at Hyungwon. “I’m in the mood for lobster.”

“You’re not going to find that here,” Hyungwon said under his breath, rubbing his hands together; despite the diner being warm inside, he still had a worthless piece of jacket on that did little to cover him. “And I don’t know why you’re getting so flustered if it’s just a question.”

“Well, because I told you the answer earlier,” Minhyuk said, “and it took a lot for me to say that.”

Hyungwon  _ finally  _ understood where Minhyuk was getting at, and because karma existed, he could feel his own cheeks getting red. “I- just because you like someone doesn’t mean you stare at them,” he said, trying to defend himself. “You don’t see  _ me  _ staring at you like an idiot-”

“Now you’re calling me an idiot and hurting my feelings,” Minhyuk said. “How dare you call me an idiot.”

“I said  _ like  _ an idiot, I didn’t call you an idiot.” Hyungwon closed his menu, already knowing what he was going to order. “Don’t put words in my mouth.”

“Are you guys ready to order?” The both looked to see their waiter back with a notepad. “Or do you guys need more time?”

“Oh, I just want wonton soup and some yang chow fried rice,” Hyungwon said.

“I- uh…” Minhyuk glazed at his menu and said out loud the first thing he read. “Can I have some five pork steamed buns?”

Hyungwon gave him a glare. “How drunk are you to order that much?” he harshly whispered at him. 

“Drunk enough to tell you my feelings and keep mentioning it but not drunk enough to be able to forget everything tomorrow,” Minhyuk said, grabbing both of their menus to hand to the waiter. “And that’s the only reason why I drink.

“We’ll both have water,” Hyungwon said to the waiter. “Thanks.”

When the waiter finally left, he looked back at Minhyuk, leaning forward to speak quietly. “Minhyuk, you have a drinking problem,” he whispered again.

“More like there’s something wrong with my head,” Minhyuk said, laughing. “But it’s okay, I guess. It doesn’t matter.”

Hyungwon looked down at his lap, staring at his ripped sleeves. “Aren’t you going to do anything about it?” he said softly.

“Hm? Do anything about what?” Minhyuk said, out of his daze.

“Jesus fuck,” Hyungwon mumbled. “You know what? I take back what I say earlier, you’re as dense as an idiot.”

“I am  _ not  _ an idiot,” Minhyuk repeated. “And… do anything about what?”

Hyungwon tapped his fingernails on the table. “About the mutual feeling.”

“Oh. Uh....” Minhyuk ran his fingers through his hair. “To be fair, I never thought I would make it this far, considering I’m a big coward.”

“That  _ is  _ a fair point,” Hyungwon mumbled. 

Minhyuk placed a hand on his chest, pretending to be hurt. “Great, now you’re calling me a coward too?”

“I- no!” Hyungwon yelled. “Of not thinking you’ll get that fair, idiot!”

“Aha! So you  _ do  _ think I’m an idiot!” Minhyuk exclaimed proudly. “I win!”

Hyungwon said, crossing his arms over on the table. “You always dodge everything, I’m not surprised,” he muttered.

“No, I’m just  _ again  _ being a big coward,” Minhyuk reminded him. “And just because you like me doesn’t mean you’ll agree to date me.”

“I mean, I  _ could  _ say the same about you,” Hyungwon pointed out. 

“No you can’t,” Minhyuk argued. “Because I would like to be seeing you and I don’t know how you feel about it.”

Hyungwon slid his hand forward on the table, reaching out for Minhyuk’s. “I think it’ll be a bad idea on your part,” he said. “But I can’t say I’m opposed to that.”

***

_ Date: November 21, 2020 _

_ Time: 4:29 AM _

_ Holy fuck I’m dating Hyungwon. _

***

“Did you have fun yesterday?” Changkyun said, taking a bite of his sandwich. 

It was Saturday, and not even five minutes after Minhyuk woke up (2 PM if you were curious), Changkyun had sent him a text asking him if he wanted to hang out at his own place, so now they were in Changkyun’s room eating BLTs, on the floor next to the alpha’s bed. 

Thankfully, Minhyuk had  _ not  _ been hungover, as he usually was. Meaning he was able to remember everything from the night before. 

“Oh, yeah, your party,” Minhyuk mumbled, taking a bite of his sandwich. All he was getting was a mouthful of bacon, as Changkyun often went overboard with it. However, he appreciated the gesture of his friend. “I forgot.”

“I- dude, how much did you drink?” Changkyun asked, tossing Minhyuk one of the unopened water bottles that he always kept next to his nightstand. “Here.”

“I am  _ not  _ hungover, if that’s what you’re asking,” Minhyuk said, opening the water bottle anyways. He  _ had  _ been eating too much bacon which was always salty in his opinion. “And maybe other stuff happened that made me forget that I was at the party to begin with.”

“You  _ literally  _ only forget when you drink,” Changkyun reminded him. “Dude, be honest with yourself, you have a drinking problem.”

“I  _ don’t  _ have a drinking problem,” Minhyuk muttered under his breath, putting on the cap of the water bottle that he had been, well… drinking. “Not you too.”

Changkyun raised an eye. “Wait, who else has told you?”

“Huh? No one important,” Minhyuk said too quickly. “Wait, no, he is  _ very  _ important but it’s not important for you to know.”

“And again, who  _ else  _ has told you?” Changkyun repeated himself. “What’s wrong, you’re at the contradictions part again of your rants.”

“Nothing’s wrong, I’m just still in my ongoing crisis as normal,” Minhyuk explained, taking another bite of his sandwich.

Changkyun sighed. “Dude-”

“How did things go with Kihyun yesterday?” Minhyuk interrupted him. 

“Well, how did things go with Hyungwon?” Changkyun asked him as well. 

Minhyuk frowned. “You dodged my question.”

“No, you dodged  _ my  _ question and chose to ask one yourself, so I’m doing it as well,” Changkyun said innocently. “And I know you have the right to not say anything to me, but you  _ do  _ know I just get worried by how much you drink.”

“Well, you don’t have to be worried,” Minhyuk said, setting his sandwich down. “And a  _ lot  _ happened last night and I’m still processing everything to be honest, but I’ll tell you eventually.”

Changkyun nodded, grabbing a pillow off his bed. “Yeah, like I said, I’m not going to force you,” he said. “But I do have news to tell you.”

“About you and Kihyun?” Minhyuk asked, remembering what he asked Changkyun just a mere few seconds again. 

“No, idiot,” Changkyun corrected him. “Of-”

“Why is  _ everyone  _ calling me an idiot?” Minhyuk said to himself, staring at the bedroom ceiling. 

“Dude, you call me a fuck up, get over it,” Changkyun scolded him. “But anyways, Shownu broke up with his new girlfriend.”

Minhyuk whipped his head down to make eye contact with Changkyun again. “He’s such a playboy,” he said, sighing. “I don’t know why Wonho is friends with him.”

“Hey, you don’t know  _ why  _ Shownu broke up with her,” Changkyun pointed out. “Bro, it was at the party  _ filled  _ with people at school. Everyone saw it.”

“Okay, well, why did he break up with her?” Minhyuk asked, making the ‘come on’ gesture with his hand. 

“I think she was talking shit of Wonho,” Changkyun said truthfully. “I didn’t see the whole thing cause, you know, I was with Kihyun, but Jooheon saw,” he explained. “We should ask him at school Monday.”

Minhyuk groaned, throwing his head back to hit the mattress. “Don’t talk to me about school, I don’t want to be any more confused.”

“Preach,” Changkyun said, lifting up his water bottle. “High school is annoying as it is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha this chapter left you with (chapter title) lmao
> 
> also seunghceol from svt said he wished hyungwon a happy birthday, my heart (cries)


	18. D R U G S

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> monsta x is having a c o m e b a c k

Monday came, and to be honest, Minhyuk had no idea what the  _ fuck  _ he did on Sunday, but he was too tired to care. 

He was at his locker, his Humanoids album playing at extremely high volumes, trying to remember his locker combination. He went to sleep at four am and woke up an hour and a half later; he once read at the doctor’s office saying that naps should be 20 minutes or 90 minutes, and the  _ last  _ thing he wanted was to feel more like shit. 

“Bro, you good?” Minhyuk looked up to see Jooheon next to him, lightly punching his shoulder. “Dude, wake up, it’s Monday.”

“Haha, real funny,” Minhyuk said, trying his locker combination again. When it didn’t work, he slammed his head against it, muttering a sigh of defeat. “Time to do meth-”

At that moment, Changkyun appeared behind Minhyuk, ready to greet him only to hear the last line. “Excuse me,  _ what  _ did I just hear??”

“He said he’s going to do meth, can’t you hear?” Jooheon said. “Also, Minhyuk, I think meth is a  _ bit  _ extreme, maybe you should start with a trip to somewhere fun or getting laid.”

“Are you suggesting he should  _ eventually  _ try meth?!” Changkyun yelled at him. 

Minhyuk got his head off of the locker and gave Jooheon a glare. “I’ve been dating Hyungwon for two days and you already want me to sleep with him?”

“Bro, literally no one said Hyungwon- hold on, come again?” Jooheon asked, frowning in confusion. “Did I just hear correctly?”

“Who has bad hearing now,” Changkyun muttered under his breath, only to widen his eyes once he processed what Minhyuk said. “Hold on, you’re dating  _ what?!” _

Minhyuk hit his head on the locker again once he realized what he let slip. “I fucking hate my life, I’m going to try meth.”

“Let’s  _ not  _ joke about drugs,” Jooheon said, patting Minhyuk’s head. “How’d you ask out Hyungwon, I’m curious.”

Changkyun raised an eye. “Wait a second, hold up, is  _ this  _ what you were trying to tell me the other day?”

“Not surprised he didn’t,” Jooheon added.

“Can we  _ not  _ talk about my pathetic love life?” Minhyuk said, turning around to glare at both of them. “I am honestly not in the mood.”

“Wait, how is it pathetic if you’re already… dating, I’m so confused,” Jooheon trailed off. 

“Because I’m an alcoholic pathetic loser with a stupid sleep schedule, speaking of which, I’m going to homeroom, I want to take a nap.”

  
***

  
Right before chemistry class was about to start, Minhyuk walked straight to his desk, staring at the ground until he sat down, refusing to make eye contact with anyone as he played with his trembling fingers.

It was currently passing period, and Minhyuk had been in the hallways where there had been another fight. Usually they weren’t that big of deal to him; it happened a lot in this school (and Shownu was often in them), but this must have a been a big one, since so many crowded among the two guys who were fighting that Minhyuk caught himself in a big crowd, unable to move. 

It came to a point where he had to scream for people to move, pushing them away as he ran towards the end of the hall, where it was empty, seeing how everyone chose to watch whatever two fucking idiotic alphas decided to fight about. 

Minhyuk regretted not having his headphones in at that moment; he had left his usual ones at home, so he was stuck using his spare ones that never really last long. Maybe he should ask him mom for the expensive airpod ones. 

He sat down at the desk, squeezing his eyes shut. He had to remind himself that he was out of the situation, out of the whole incident with him and Kwangmin, he was here at school in his chemistry class, they were going to go over a new concept today, he wasn’t there anymore, he wasn’t there anymore-

Instantly, he felt someone’s hand on his shoulder, startling him. He opened his eyes and was surprised to see Hyungwon, a worried look on his face. 

“Are you okay?” he said, tilting his head. “You look like you’re one the verge of a panic attack-”

Right. Hyungwon was now his boyfriend. As of Friday. Or technically Saturday morning. They were now seeing each other and Hyungwon didn’t know a single detail of that one night. 

“I need to get out of here,” Minhyuk whispered, getting out of his chair. “I can’t- not right now-”

“Wait- Minhyuk!” Hyungwon followed Minhyuk who was already dashing out of the classroom, thankful that the classroom was half-empty thanks to everyone watching the fight in the hallway. 

MInhyuk ran until he was at the top of the stairs, climbing down halfway. The stairs were basically cut in half, where in the middle there would be a flat platform connecting the two parts, and it was an excellent hiding spot for teens who were skipping class and didn’t want teachers from the first or second floors to see you. 

He sat down in the middle part, leaning against the wall with his knees pressed against his chest. His hands were still trembling, and he closed his eyes, squeezing them shut. 

Hyungwon didn’t say anything at first, still surprised at the whole ordeal but not wanting to pry. He hadn’t quite seen Minhyuk in this state before, and he didn’t know what to do. 

The bell rang, signifying that passing period was over and class was in session. They were officially missing chemistry now.

He sat down next to Minhyuk on the floor, criss-crossed with his hands in his lap. “We can ditch,” he suggested, trying to change the topic. He didn’t like to miss school, knowing he was never going to get another chance at a free education again, but he had to help Minhyuk somehow; Hyungwon detested feeling useless when a loved one was hurt. “Get something to eat.”

Minhyuk let his head hit against the wall behind him, opening his eyes to stare at the ceiling a few feet above them. “Maybe,” he said. “Oh god, I’m getting a headache now.”

Hyungwon took off his backpack and set it on his lap, unzipping it. He rummaged through it, going through his binders and notebooks before pulling out a bottle. “Here,” he said, halfway handing it to Minhyuk before pulling it back. “Shit, wrong one.”

“Wait, what is that?” Minhyuk pointed at it, watching Hyungwon shove it deep in his bag before rummaging around again.

Hyungwon glanced at Minhyuk. “My mother’s medicine, I have to refill it later at the pharmacy,” he murmured, grabbing something that made a rattling sound. He pulled it out, this time a generic brand bottle for pain relief. “Here, take this for your headache.”

Minhyuk grabbed the pill bottle, opening the child-lock cap. “Thanks.”

He took out two pills and put them in his mouth, dry swallowing. When he turned to give them back, he was puzzled by Hyungwon’s raised eyes. “What?”

“You- you took them without- without- oh, god, you’re insane,” Hyungwon mumbled, throwing his bottle back in his backpack. “Do you  _ not  _ have water?”

Minhyuk shrugged. “I forgot about it.”

“Uh- okay, then,” Hyungwon said, putting his backpack on again. “We should probably leave soon before they start patrolling the hallway and use the staircase, I don’t know about you but I can’t afford a call home.”

“Yeah, that’s- yeah, I’m hungry,” Minhyuk said quietly, getting up from the floor, Hyungwon following suit. “No restaurants, though, I can’t deal with people right now, no…”

Hyungwon nodded. “O-kay…” he drew out. “Where do you want to go, then-”

“Can you come over?” Minhyuk blurted out. He stuffed his trembling hands in his jean pockets. “Like, to my house, I guess. I’ll order food for you, if you’re okay with it.”

Hyungwon looked at him in silence for a few seconds, blinking a couple times to make sure he didn’t just hallucinate that last sentence. Yes, he knew that they were now officially boyfriends and inviting the other to their house was a normal thing that couples did but  _ Hyungwon couldn’t process it _ . 

Besides, Hyungwon would  _ never  _ dare invite Minhyuk to his place. If the alpha knew about his home life, Hyungwon would never be able to look at him in the eye. 

At last, Hyungwon gestured to the bottom half of the stairs. “Lead the way.”   
  


***

They successfully left the school without getting caught. It wasn’t a good idea for them to walk home, seeing as it was terribly cold outside and Hyungwon barely had a jacket on, so he ordered a uBer for the two of them to go to his place. 

During the whole ride, they didn’t say much, only guessing what they missed in class. It was Monday and they had just turned in the lab report Friday (the one that Hyungwon completed by himself), so it’s not like they had anything big today, thankfully. 

The uBer finally reached their destination, bidding the alpha and the omega farewell. They got out of the car, Hyungwon rubbing his hands for warmth once his skin hit the cold air while Minhyuk took out his keys, finding the right one. 

The two walked towards the doorstep, Minhyuk in the front as he tried to remember what key it was. They all looked the same to him, anyways. “Is there anything in particular that you want to eat?” he asked, picking the key that looked the closest to what he remembered. “Pizza, Thai, seafood?”

Hyungwon stuffed his hands in his pockets, shivering. He hated cold weather with a passion, but he had an icky feeling that it wasn’t because of the temperature outside. “Nothing in particular, no,” he murmured. “I’m okay with anything.”

Minhyuk unlocked the front door, entering his house quickly so that Hyungwon could get inside. “I’ll order pizza, then,” he said, slipping off his shoes as he shut the door. “Haven’t had that in a while. Pepperoni?”

Hyungwon nodded. Despite already being in the house with the heat on (Minhyuk’s mother didn’t like turning it off), he was still shivering. “Yeah, yeah, I’m cool, yeah.”

Minhyuk took his backpack off and set it down on the couch. “Um… we can stay here in the living room if you want,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Or we can go to my room or- I might, not to do _ that _ , I mean-”

Hyungwon’s eyes widened. “Minhyuk, it’s been  _ two days- _ ”

“I- I know that, I wasn’t implying anything,” Minhyuk stammered, stepping back as he waved his hands in front of him. “I swear, I- let’s watch a movie.”

“I- okay, then.” Hyungwon said, looking around before sitting down on the nearest sofa, crossing his ankles as he stuffed his hands between his thighs. No matter how many times he’s dragged Minhyuk’s drunk ass to his room, he always felt uncomfortable here. “I’m cool.”

Minhyuk nodded. “Hm, yeah, okay then.” He sat down at the opposite couch, maintaining a good six feet from Hyungwon - he didn’t want the omega to feel uneasy. “You pick something while I order the pizza.”

He grabbed the tv remote laying down on the coffee table and slid it slowly towards Hyungwon, noticing that Hyungwon was being jittery. Did he not want to be here? “Are you okay?”

“Huh? No, I’m totally fine,” Hyungwon said, grabbing the remote. He concentrated on looking at the buttons; it was one of those fancy remotes for the newer televisions that had been coming out. “You worry too much.”

“I can say the same for you,” Minhyuk muttered, thinking of the latter complaining about his nonexistent drinking problem. “Though I give you full permission to say ‘I told you so.’ I know you want to say it at least once a week.”

Hyungwon pressed the on button, turning on the television successfully. “Matter of fact, I do, but it doesn’t really serve a benefit.”

“Maybe your ego? I don’t know, Jooheon is the one who says it to us during lunch,” he said, turning on his phone. He wasn’t lying when he said he was hungry. 

He scrolled mindlessly through uBer eats, picking the first pizza place that came up when he stole another glance at Hyungwon, who was still shaking. Was he sick? Is that why he was uncomfortable? “Hey, are you okay?”

Hyungwon looked at him before looking back at the television. “No.”

Well, that was certainly blunt. “What’s wrong?” Minhyuk asked, thinking he offended him. 

Hyungwon sighed. “Well, earlier when I checked my bag at school, I realized I don’t really… have my suppressants,” he said. “And I kind of need them now-”

Minhyuk’s eyes widened once he realized what Hyungwon said. “Oh. OH. I- my younger brother has medicine, I can get, I can get it-” he shouted, jumping off the couch as he ran from the living.

“-your comment from earlier didn’t help- MINHYUK!” Hyungwon stared wide-eyed at Minhyuk who disappeared before he could say anything. “Oh, lovely. Well, good thing we ditched school, then. Right after that fight between that one alpha and Wonho, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did you guys see that debate where they said monsta x is LEAST suitable for nct dream chewing gum, lol, i can see shownu ripping the school uniform


End file.
